English
indifferently
Indifferently comes from Latin indifferēns ‘indifferent’, from differēns ‘spreading, scattering, dispersing, separating’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-1‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti1‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ferō1‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferō1‘to bear’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdifferō1‘to carry different ways, spread, scatter, disperse, separate’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdifferēns1‘spreading, scattering, dispersing, separating’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindifferēns1‘indifferent’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400indifferent1
- English1500–presentindifferent1
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588indifferently1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English indifferently
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Uiew wel my Camp, and ſpeake indifferently, Doo not…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-Wiktionary, English indifferently‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéretiWiktionary, English indifferently‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ferōWiktionary, English indifferently‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferōWiktionary, English indifferently‘to bear’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdifferōWiktionary, English indifferently‘to carry different ways, spread, scatter, disperse, separate’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdifferēnsWiktionary, English indifferently‘spreading, scattering, dispersing, separating’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEindifferēnsWiktionary, English indifferently‘indifferent’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400indifferentWiktionary, English indifferently
- English1500–presentindifferentWiktionary, English indifferently
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588indifferentlyWiktionary, English indifferently. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Uiew wel my Camp, and ſpeake indifferently, Doo not…”
A compound of indifferent + -ly
Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
…
Latin differō ‘to carry different ways, spread, scatter,…’
Latin differēns ‘spreading, scattering, dispersing, separating’
Latin indifferēns
Old French indifferent
English indifferent
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
bar, birth, broad, bread, fortune, prefer, burden, bearing, barrel, barn, fury, baron, bark, bore, breeze, broom, barrow, embargo, berth, fret, ferret, furtive, insufferable, bahar, bier, birr, bairn, burnish, barrette, proffer, 114 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti ‘to be carrying’
bear, borne, phosphate, phosphorus, euphoria, dysphoria, semaphore, phosphine, 92 more
through Proto-Italic *ferō ‘to carry, bear’
suffering, infertility, infertile, 68 more
through Latin ferō ‘to bear’
offer, transfer, translation, relative, reference, relation, extraordinary, relate, suffer, frustration, translate, strangely, fertility, referee, referendum, fertile, extravagant, frustrate, elated, confer, fertilization, extraneous, ablation, infra, differentiation, infer, elation, collation, strangeness, deference, collate, fertilize, ablative, oblate, estrange, deferential, differentially, differentiable, efferent, differentiator, 71 more
through Latin differō ‘to carry different ways, spread, scatter,…’
differ, defer, dilate, 42 more
through Latin differēns ‘spreading, scattering, dispersing, separating’
Today it means
adv Tolerably; passably.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “indifferently”. 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 *bʰer- / indifferently