English
security
Security comes from Middle English securite ‘the state of being protected’, from Latin cūra ‘care’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- ‘to heed’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-1‘to heed’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizā1‘care’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūra2‘care’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēcūrus2‘safe’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēcūritās2‘security’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600securité2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500securite2‘the state of being protected’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595security2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin cura
- 2 Wiktionary, English security
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “He means, my lord, that we are too remiss,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-Wiktionary, Latin cura‘to heed’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizāWiktionary, Latin cura‘care’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūraWiktionary, English security‘care’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēcūrusWiktionary, English security‘safe’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēcūritāsWiktionary, English security‘security’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600securitéWiktionary, English security
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500securiteWiktionary, English security‘the state of being protected’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595securityWiktionary, English security. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “He means, my lord, that we are too remiss,…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with security, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Italic *kʷoizā ‘care’
- procurement ← procurer ← prōcūrō ← cūrō ← cūra
- manicure ← manucure ← cūra
- procurator ← procuratour ← procuratour ← prōcūrō ← cūrō
through Latin cūra ‘care’
28 more relatives in the full family tree
No ads, ever.
Explore everything descended from *kʷeys- →
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 The condition of not being threatened, especially physically, psychologically, emotionally, or financially.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “security”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin cura. 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 *kʷeys- / security