Etymograph

English

objective

Objective comes from Middle English obgectyf, from Middle French objectif and Medieval Latin obiectīvus, from Latin obiciō ‘to present’, from iaciō ‘to throw’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yeh₁-1‘to throw’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yéh₁kt ~ *(H)ih₁ként1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiaciō1‘to throw, hurl’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobiciō2‘to present, expose’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500obiectīvus3
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600objectif3
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500obgectyf3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1912objective3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin obicio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin obiectivus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English objective
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1912, George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion. Preface.: “His [Henry Sweet's] true objective was the provision of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yeh₁-Wiktionary, Latin obicio‘to throw’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yéh₁kt ~ *(H)ih₁kéntWiktionary, Latin obicioreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiaciōWiktionary, Latin obicio‘to throw, hurl’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobiciōWiktionary, Latin obiectivus‘to present, expose’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500obiectīvusWiktionary, English objective
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600objectifWiktionary, English objective
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500obgectyfWiktionary, English objective
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1912objectiveWiktionary, English objective. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1912, George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion. Preface.: “His [Henry Sweet's] true objective was the provision of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- ‘to throw’

year, hour, catheter, trajectory, enema, jut, iambic, abject, jetsam, 39 more

through Proto-Indo-European *(H)yéh₁kt ~ *(H)ih₁ként

projection, projectile, dejection, 25 more

through Latin iaciō ‘to throw, hurl’

disease, project, ease, adjacent, jet, jess, injection, gist, conjecture, inject, jetty, ejaculation, ejaculate, adjective, ejection, eject, joist, jettison, interject, subjection, 30 more

Today it means

adj Of or relating to a material object, actual existence or reality.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “objective”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin obicio, Latin obiectivus. 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 *(H)yeh₁- / objective

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