English
transitivity
Transitivity comes from French transitif ‘transitive’, from Latin trānseō ‘to pass over’, and ultimately from eō ‘go’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeō1‘go’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānseō2‘to pass over’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānsitīvus3‘transiting’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttransitif4‘transitive’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttransitivité5
- Englishtodaytransitivity5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin transeo
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin transitivus
- 3 Wiktionary, French transitif
- 4 Wiktionary, French transitivité
- 5 Wiktionary, English transitivity
Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeōWiktionary, Latin transeo‘go’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānseōWiktionary, Latin transitivus‘to pass over’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānsitīvusWiktionary, French transitif‘transiting’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttransitifWiktionary, French transitivité‘transitive’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttransitivitéWiktionary, English transitivity
- EnglishtodaytransitivityWiktionary, English transitivity
Formed from transitive + -ity
Latin eō ‘to go’
Latin trāns ‘across’
Latin trānsitus ‘passage, crossing’
Latin trānsitīvus ‘transiting’
English transitive
Linked words
through Latin eō ‘go’
issue, initial, exit, ambitious, ambition, ambient, obituary, eyre, sedition, ambiance, seditious, ambit, obit, praetor, 27 more
through Latin trānseō ‘to pass over’
Today it means
noun The degree in which any one verb can take or govern objects.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “transitivity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin transeo, Latin transitivus, French transitif, French transitivité. 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 eō / transitivity