English
monitor
Monitor probably comes from Latin monitor ‘warner’, from monitus, past participle of moneō ‘to warn’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoneō1as monere‘to warn, remind’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmonitus1‘warning’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmonitor1‘warner’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1829monitor1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English monitor
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Charles Sprague: “And oft, mild friend, to me thou art A…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoneōWiktionary, English monitoras monere‘to warn, remind’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmonitusWiktionary, English monitor‘warning’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmonitorWiktionary, English monitor‘warner’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1829monitorWiktionary, English monitor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Charles Sprague: “And oft, mild friend, to me thou art A…”
The story
Warship sense is from USS Monitor, the first ship of this type.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think’
music, mind, money, amount, comment, mental, remain, museum, mouth, permanent, mountain, mention, min, mount, auto, mint, maya, dementia, monetary, imminent, amnesty, muse, eminent, menace, ming, prominence, mas, mandarin, mantra, mentor, monk, mosaic, amnesia, monastery, remnant, eminence, monte, mania, mantis, manic, 111 more
through Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti ‘to cause to think, make think’
through Proto-Italic *moneō ‘to remind, warn’
monster, demonstration, monumental, monstrous, demonstrative, monstrosity, 13 more
through Latin moneō ‘to warn, admonish, remind’
Today it means
noun Someone who watches over something; a person in charge of something or someone.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “monitor”. 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 moneō / monitor