English
opifice
Opifice comes from Latin opificium ‘work’, from opifex ‘workman’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-1‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opis1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEops1‘resources, wealth’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopifex2‘workman’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopificium2‘work’
- Englishearliest quotation 1635opifice2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin opifex
- 2 Wiktionary, English opifice
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1635, Henry Gellibrand: “not able rightly to conceive of this admirable opifice…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-Wiktionary, Latin opifex‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opisWiktionary, Latin opifexreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopsWiktionary, Latin opifex‘resources, wealth’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopifexWiktionary, English opifice‘workman’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopificiumWiktionary, English opifice‘work’
- Englishearliest quotation 1635opificeWiktionary, English opifice. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1635, Henry Gellibrand: “not able rightly to conceive of this admirable opifice…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’
bus, operation, operate, operator, opera, omnibus, opus, oeuvre, omnivore, 21 more
through Latin ops ‘resources, wealth’
official, copy, officer, optimum, opulent, copious, opulence, officiate, officiant, officious, 8 more
through Latin opificium ‘work’
Today it means
noun workmanship
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “opifice”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin opifex. 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 *h₃ep- / opifice