English
particular
Particular comes from Middle English particuler, from Late Latin particularis ‘partial’, from Latin pars ‘part’, probably ultimately from PIE *perh₃- ‘to grant’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-1‘to provide’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*partis1‘part’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpars1‘part’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparticula2‘part’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEparticularis2‘partial’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400particuler2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500particuler2
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602particular2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin particula
- 2 Wiktionary, English particular
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “I could a tale unfold whose lightest word /…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-Wiktionary, Latin particula‘to provide’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*partisWiktionary, Latin particula‘part’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparsWiktionary, Latin particula‘part’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparticulaWiktionary, English particular‘part’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEparticularisWiktionary, English particular‘partial’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400particulerWiktionary, English particular
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500particulerWiktionary, English particular
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602particularWiktionary, English particular. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “I could a tale unfold whose lightest word /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to provide, produce, beget’
empire, experiment, expert, repair, imperial, preparation, parental, para, parity, imperium, imperious, pare, rampart, 37 more
through Latin pars ‘part, piece’
party, participate, participation, depart, partition, parse, impart, repartee, parter, 18 more
through Latin particula ‘(small) part’
Today it means
adj Pertaining only to a part of something; partial.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “particular”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin particula. 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- / particular