Etymograph

English

participation

Participation comes from Latin participō ‘to partake of, participate in’, from particeps ‘sharing’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to grant’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-1‘to grant’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*partis2‘part’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpars3‘part’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparticeps4‘sharing’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparticipō5‘to partake of, participate in’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEparticipatiō6
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400participacion6
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500participacioun6
  9. Englishtodayparticipation6

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *partis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin pars
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin particeps
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Latin participo
  5. 5 Wiktionary, Latin participatio
  6. 6 Wiktionary, English participation

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *partis‘to grant’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*partisWiktionary, Latin pars‘part’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparsWiktionary, Latin particeps‘part’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparticepsWiktionary, Latin participo‘sharing’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparticipōWiktionary, Latin participatio‘to partake of, participate in’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEparticipatiōWiktionary, English participation
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400participacionWiktionary, English participation
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500participaciounWiktionary, English participation
  9. EnglishtodayparticipationWiktionary, English participation

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to grant’

empire, expert, experiment, repair, imperial, preparation, parental, para, parity, 40 more

through Proto-Italic *partis ‘part’

18 more

through Latin pars ‘part’

party, particular, parcel, depart, partition, 23 more

Today it means

noun The act of participating, of taking part in something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “participation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *partis, Latin pars, Latin particeps, Latin participo, Latin participatio. 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 *perh₃- / participation

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