Etymograph

English

self-activity

Self-activity comes from Latin āctīvitās ‘activity, movement, action’, from agō ‘to act, to behave’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti1‘to be driving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō1‘to drive’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō1‘to act, to behave’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctīvus1‘active’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctīvitās1‘activity, movement, action’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600activité1
  8. English1500–presentactivity1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1692self-activity1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English self-activity
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1692, Robert Boyle: “If it can intrinsically stir itself […] it must…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-Wiktionary, English self-activityreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵetiWiktionary, English self-activity‘to be driving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agōWiktionary, English self-activity‘to drive’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagōWiktionary, English self-activity‘to act, to behave’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctīvusWiktionary, English self-activity‘active’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctīvitāsWiktionary, English self-activity‘activity, movement, action’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600activitéWiktionary, English self-activity
  8. English1500–presentactivityWiktionary, English self-activity
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1692self-activityWiktionary, English self-activity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1692, Robert Boyle: “If it can intrinsically stir itself […] it must…”

A compound of self- + activity

Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ-

Proto-Germanic *selbaz ‘self’

Proto-Germanic *selba-

English self-

Latin āctīvitās ‘activity’

Middle French activité

English activity

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-

suggest, register, essay, gesture, acre, digest, congestion, agrarian, progesterone, belligerent, gestation, ingestion, ingest, agitate, axiomatic, agger, samaj, gerund, gestion, 128 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’

strategy, agony, antagonist, axiom, reactionary, antagonism, agonist, antagonize, stratagem, glucagon, agonize, 102 more

through Proto-Italic *agō ‘to drive’

reaction, transaction, unambiguous, reagent, ambiguously, 80 more

through Latin agō ‘to act, to behave’

act, agency, action, agent, actual, actor, agenda, examine, examination, actively, ambiguous, squat, agile, radioactive, assay, ambiguity, enact, inactive, agility, agitation, cogent, actuator, retroactive, exigent, actuation, inexact, actuate, redact, 92 more

through Latin āctīvus ‘active’

active, activate, radium, 28 more

through English activity

hyperactivity, 19 more

Today it means

noun Self-motion or the power of moving one's self or itself without foreign or external aid.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “self-activity”. 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 *h₂eǵ- / self-activity

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