Etymograph

English

omission

Omission comes from Late Latin omissio, from Latin omitto ‘to let go, allow to pass by, let fall or let…’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méyth₂eti.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méyth₂eti1uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meitō1‘to put forth, put out’uncertain
  3. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEmītō1uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō1‘to send, dispatch, cause to go, let go, release, discharge’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*ommittō1reconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEomitto2‘to let go, allow to pass by, let fall or let loose’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEomissio2
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400omission2
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500omissioun2‘omission, neglection’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2023omission2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin omitto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English omission
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Clive Young, chapter three: From Union to Devolution: “Scots was not ‘banned’ outright — impossible anyway with…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méyth₂etiWiktionary, Latin omittouncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meitōWiktionary, Latin omitto‘to put forth, put out’uncertain
  3. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEmītōWiktionary, Latin omittouncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittōWiktionary, Latin omitto‘to send, dispatch, cause to go, let go, release, discharge’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*ommittōWiktionary, Latin omittoreconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEomittoWiktionary, English omission‘to let go, allow to pass by, let fall or let loose’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEomissioWiktionary, English omission
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400omissionWiktionary, English omission
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500omissiounWiktionary, English omission‘omission, neglection’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 2023omissionWiktionary, English omission. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Clive Young, chapter three: From Union to Devolution: “Scots was not ‘banned’ outright — impossible anyway with…”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *meitō ‘to put forth, put out’

unremitting, 20 more

through Old Latin mītō

remit, remission, commissariat, 21 more

through Latin mittō ‘to send, dispatch, cause to go, let go,…’

committee, admit, mess, commit, commission, permission, transmission, transmit, premise, missile, dismiss, intermittent, admission, submission, emit, amit, emission, commissary, permissive, commissar, remiss, missive, 28 more

through Latin omitto ‘to let go, allow to pass by, let fall or let…’

omit

Today it means

noun The act of omitting.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “omission”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin omitto. 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 *méyth₂eti / omission

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