Etymograph

English

property

Property comes from Middle English propertee, from Old French propreté, from Latin proprietās ‘peculiarity, ownership’, from proprius ‘one’s own’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEproprius1‘special, particular, one's own’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEproprietās2‘peculiarity; property’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400propreté2
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500propertee2
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596property2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin proprietas
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English property
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “Your grace shall pardon me, I will not back:…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpropriusWiktionary, Latin proprietas‘special, particular, one's own’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEproprietāsWiktionary, English property‘peculiarity; property’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400propretéWiktionary, English property
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500properteeWiktionary, English property
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596propertyWiktionary, English property. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “Your grace shall pardon me, I will not back:…”

Word family

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

through Proto-Indo-European *preyH- ‘to please’

  • friend ← freend ← frēond ← *friund ← *frijōndz
  • freedom ← fredom ← frēodōm ← *frijadōm ← *frī
  • fray ← fraien ← affraier ← *exfridāre ← *friþu
  • impropriety ← impropriété ← improprietās

through Proto-Indo-European *priHós ‘dear’

  • free ← fre ← frēo ← *friu ← *frijwaz
  • frith ← friþ ← *friþu ← *friþuz

through Proto-Italic *pro-

through Latin proprius ‘appropriate to oneself: (one's) proper, (one's) own (inalienably)’

  • appropriation ← appropriacion ← appropriātiō ← appropriō ← propriō
  • improper ← impropre ← improprius
  • reproach ← reprochen ← reprochier ← *repropiō ← propriō

through Latin proprietās ‘a peculiarity, one's peculiar nature or quality, right or fact of possession, property’

23 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from proprius →

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

noun Something that is owned.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “property”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin proprietas. 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 proprius / property