Etymograph

English

tempestivity

Tempestivity comes from Latin tempestīvitās ‘timeliness, seasonableness’, from tempus ‘time’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *temp- ‘to stretch, string’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temp-1‘to stretch, string’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tempos2‘stretch’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempus3‘time’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempestās3‘time, season’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīvus4
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempestīvus3‘timely’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempestīvitās3‘timeliness, seasonableness’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1569tempestivity3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *tempos
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin tempus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English tempestivity
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Latin tempestivus
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1569, Thomas Newton, The Worthye Booke of Old Age: “The race and course of age is certain; and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temp-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *tempos‘to stretch, string’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*temposWiktionary, Latin tempus‘stretch’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempusWiktionary, English tempestivity‘time’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempestāsWiktionary, English tempestivity‘time, season’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīvusWiktionary, Latin tempestivus
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempestīvusWiktionary, English tempestivity‘timely’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempestīvitāsWiktionary, English tempestivity‘timeliness, seasonableness’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1569tempestivityWiktionary, English tempestivity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1569, Thomas Newton, The Worthye Booke of Old Age: “The race and course of age is certain; and…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *temp- ‘to stretch, string’

antenna, contemplate, contemplation, templar, contemporaneously, 20 more

through Proto-Italic *tempos ‘stretch’

temperature, temporal, temperate, temperance, tamper, contemporaneous, 14 more

through Latin tempus ‘time’

contemporary, temporary, temple, tense, template, tempo, temperament, matin, tempura, 12 more

through Latin tempestās ‘time, season’

tempestuous, 2 more

through Latin īvus

positive, native, festival, naive, festive, nativity, sativa, festivity, 8 more

Today it means

noun timeliness

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tempestivity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *tempos, Latin tempus, Latin tempestivus. 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 *temp- / tempestivity

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