Etymograph

English

information

Information comes from Middle English enformacioun, from Anglo-Norman informacioun, from Latin īnfōrmātiō ‘formation, conception; education’, from īnfōrmō ‘to form, give shape to’, and ultimately from fōrma.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrma1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmō1‘to shape’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfōrmō1‘to form, give shape to’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfōrmātiō1‘formation, conception; education’
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400informacioun1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enformacioun1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1592information1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English information
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1592, Henry IV of France, A Discourse of the Great Overthrow: “And ſo much yet did this contagion breake foorth…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmaWiktionary, English information
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmōWiktionary, English information‘to shape’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfōrmōWiktionary, English information‘to form, give shape to’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfōrmātiōWiktionary, English information‘formation, conception; education’
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400informaciounWiktionary, English information
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enformaciounWiktionary, English information
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1592informationWiktionary, English information. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1592, Henry IV of France, A Discourse of the Great Overthrow: “And ſo much yet did this contagion breake foorth…”

Linked words

through Ancient Greek μορφή ‘shape, form’

morphology, morph, uniformity, deformable, 30 more

through Etruscan *morma

formula, uniform, formal, transformation, forma, 21 more

through Latin fōrma

form, fromage, 30 more

through Latin fōrmō ‘to shape, form, fashion, format’

reform, format, deform, 9 more

Today it means

noun Something that provides a definitive characterization or description of the nature and attributes of a specified entity.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “information”. 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 / Latin fōrma / information

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