Etymograph

English

item

Item comes from Middle English item, from Latin item ‘also’, which introduced each entry in a list.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEitem1‘also’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500item1‘also’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1655item1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English item
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […]: “A secret item was given to some of the…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEitemWiktionary, English item‘also’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500itemWiktionary, English item‘also’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1655itemWiktionary, English item. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […]: “A secret item was given to some of the…”

The story

The present English meaning derives from a usage in lists, where the first entry would begin in primis (‘firstly’) or imprimis, and the other entries with item (‘also, moreover’). Later, the members of lists were referred to as "items".

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Latin item

Today it means

noun A distinct physical object.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “item”. 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 item / item

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