Etymograph

English

modus

Modus comes from Latin modus ‘measure, manner, mood’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *med-.

  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, manner, mood’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1765–1769modus2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin modus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English modus
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England: “To make a good and sufficient modus, the following…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-Wiktionary, Latin modus‘to measure’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mod-ósWiktionary, Latin modus‘measure’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*modosWiktionary, Latin modusreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodusWiktionary, English modus‘measure, manner, mood’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1765–1769modusWiktionary, English modus. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England: “To make a good and sufficient modus, the following…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure’

must, medical, medicine, medication, meditation, med, moderate, remedy, medicinal, modest, blackmail, medic, meditate, moderator, molding, mete, mote, modulate, moulder, commode, 22 more

through Proto-Italic *modos

modernize, modality, 10 more

through Latin modus ‘measure, manner, mood’

modern, model, mud, mode, mood, commodity, modification, mold, mould, module, modulation, modal, modicum, modifiable, modulus, modulo, 17 more

Today it means

noun The arrangement of, or mode of expressing, the terms of a contract or conveyance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “modus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin modus. 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 *med- / modus

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