Etymograph

English

opinion

Opinion comes from Middle English opinion, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French opinion, from Latin opīniō, from opīnor ‘to opine’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopīnor1‘to opine’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopīniō1‘opinion’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600opinion1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500opinion1
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596opinion1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English opinion
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare]: “[…] your reaſons at Dinner haue been ſharpe &…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopīnorWiktionary, English opinion‘to opine’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopīniōWiktionary, English opinion‘opinion’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600opinionWiktionary, English opinion
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500opinionWiktionary, English opinion
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596opinionWiktionary, English opinion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare]: “[…] your reaſons at Dinner haue been ſharpe &…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with opinion, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin opīnor ‘to opine’

1 more relative in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A belief, judgment or perspective that a person has formed, either through objective or subjective reasoning, about a topic, issue, person or thing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “opinion”. 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 opīnor / opinion