English
identify
Identify comes from French identifier, from Medieval Latin identificō, built from identicus ‘identical’ + faciō ‘to make’.
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500identificō1‘to identify’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentidentifier1‘to identify’
- Englishearliest quotation 1809identify1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English identify
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1809, David Ramsay, History of South Carolina: “Every precaution is taken to identify the interests of…”.
Lineage
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500identificōWiktionary, English identify‘to identify’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentidentifierWiktionary, English identify‘to identify’
- Englishearliest quotation 1809identifyWiktionary, English identify. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1809, David Ramsay, History of South Carolina: “Every precaution is taken to identify the interests of…”
A compound of identicus ‘same, identical’ + faciō ‘to do’
Proto-Italic *izdim
Latin idem ‘the same’
Latin identitās ‘sameness’
Medieval Latin identicus ‘same, identical’
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-
Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti
Proto-Italic *θakjō
Proto-Italic *fakjō ‘to make’
Latin faciō ‘to do’
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Today it means
verb To establish the identity of someone or something.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “identify”. 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 / Medieval Latin identificō / identify