English
faculty
Faculty comes from Latin facultas ‘capability, ability, skill, abundance, plenty,…’, from facilitas ‘easiness, facility, etc’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-1reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyéti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjō1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjō1‘to make’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciō1‘do, make’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfacilis2‘easy, facile’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfacul2‘easily’another form of facilis
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfacilitas2‘easiness, facility, etc’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfacultas2‘capability, ability, skill, abundance, plenty, stock, goods, property’another form of facilitas
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400faculte2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500faculte2‘power, property’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602faculty2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin facilis
- 2 Wiktionary, English faculty
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “What a piece of work is a man! how…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-Wiktionary, Latin facilisreconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyétiWiktionary, Latin facilisreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjōWiktionary, Latin facilisreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjōWiktionary, Latin facilis‘to make’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciōWiktionary, Latin facilis‘do, make’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfacilisWiktionary, English faculty‘easy, facile’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaculWiktionary, English faculty‘easily’another form of facilis
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfacilitasWiktionary, English faculty‘easiness, facility, etc’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfacultasWiktionary, English faculty‘capability, ability, skill, abundance, plenty, stock, goods, property’another form of facilitas
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400faculteWiktionary, English faculty
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500faculteWiktionary, English faculty‘power, property’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602facultyWiktionary, English faculty. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “What a piece of work is a man! how…”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *θakjō
effectively, effectiveness, ineffective, affectionate, imperfection, putrefaction, 62 more
through Proto-Italic *fakjō ‘to make’
effective, factor, perfection, affection, interface, manufacture, imperfect, faction, affective, defection, facet, defector, effector, affectation, confectionary, deface, 68 more
through Latin faciō ‘do, make’
perfect, effect, face, fact, feature, profit, affect, efficient, infection, sacrifice, affair, deficit, feat, difficulty, defect, facial, fetish, superficial, efficacy, counterfeit, infect, deficient, facade, maleficent, facsimile, hacienda, aficionado, beautify, confection, efficacious, refectory, parfait, confit, beneficent, facies, 84 more
through Latin facilis ‘easy, facile’
difficult, facilitate, difficile, facile, 2 more
through Latin facilitas ‘easiness, facility, etc’
Today it means
noun The academic staff at schools, colleges, universities or not-for-profit research institutes, as opposed to the students or support staff.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “faculty”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin facilis. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k- / faculty