modernmodern

Modern comes from Middle French moderne ‘modern’, from Latin modo ‘just now’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure’.

1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-¹‘to measure’reconstructed
2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mod-ós¹‘measure’reconstructed
3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*modos¹reconstructed
4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodus²‘measure’
5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodo²‘just now’
6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmodernus²
7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600moderne²‘modern’
8. Englishearliest quotation 1749modern²

1. ¹ Wiktionary, Latin modus
2. ² Wiktionary, English modern
3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones: “The only supernatural agents which can in any manner…”.