Etymograph

English

function

Function comes from Middle French function, from Latin fūnctiō ‘performance’, from fungor ‘to perform’, ultimately from PIE *bʰewg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰewg-1‘to enjoy’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fungōr1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfungor1‘to perform’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūnctiō1‘performance’perfect participle of fungor
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fonction1
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600function1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1991function1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English function
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, Kenneth G Ross, Robert W Matthews: “Although the laying workers functioned in a queenlike manner,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰewg-Wiktionary, English function‘to enjoy’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fungōrWiktionary, English functionreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfungorWiktionary, English function‘to perform’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūnctiōWiktionary, English function‘performance’perfect participle of fungor
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fonctionWiktionary, English function
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600functionWiktionary, English function
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1991functionWiktionary, English function. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, Kenneth G Ross, Robert W Matthews: “Although the laying workers functioned in a queenlike manner,…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with function, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰewg- ‘to enjoy’

  • refugee ← réfugié ← réfugier ← refuge ← refugium
  • refuge ← refugium ← refugiō ← fugiō ← *fugjō
  • fugue ← fuga ← fuga ← fugiō ← *fugjō
  • perfunctory ← perfunctōrius

through Proto-Italic *fungōr

through Latin fungor ‘to perform, execute, discharge’

22 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun What something does or is used for.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “function”. 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 *bʰewg- / function