Etymograph

English

mobility

Mobility comes from Latin mōbilis ‘movable, loose’, from moveō ‘to move, stir, set in motion’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-1‘to move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweō1‘to move’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveō1‘to move, stir, set in motion’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōbilis1‘movable, loose’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōbilitās2
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600mobilité2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2015mobility2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin mobilitas
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English mobility
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2015, Hadley Freeman: “I find the enduring existence of high heels both…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-Wiktionary, Latin mobilitas‘to move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyetiWiktionary, Latin mobilitasreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweōWiktionary, Latin mobilitas‘to move’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveōWiktionary, Latin mobilitas‘to move, stir, set in motion’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōbilisWiktionary, Latin mobilitas‘movable, loose’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōbilitāsWiktionary, English mobility
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600mobilitéWiktionary, English mobility
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2015mobilityWiktionary, English mobility. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2015, Hadley Freeman: “I find the enduring existence of high heels both…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move’

motion, remover, 87 more

through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh₁éyeti

movement, mover, 88 more

through Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’

move, momentum, automotive, promoter, emotionless, 90 more

through Latin moveō ‘to move, stir, set in motion’

remove, emotional, auto, promote, motor, promotion, remote, emotion, motive, motivate, motif, removable, emote, motile, motility, 68 more

through Latin mōbilis ‘movable, loose’

automobile, immobile, 6 more

Today it means

noun The ability to move; capacity for movement.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “mobility”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin mobilitas. 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 *m(y)ewh₁- / mobility

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