Etymograph

English

translation

Translation comes from Middle English translacioun, from Anglo-Norman translacioun, from Latin trānslātiō, from trānsferō ‘to transfer, translate’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānsferō1‘to transfer, translate’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānslātiō2‘transfer; translation’supine stem of trānsferō
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400translacioun2
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500translacioun2‘transfer, translation’
  5. Englishtodaytranslation2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin translatio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English translation

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānsferōWiktionary, Latin translatio‘to transfer, translate’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānslātiōWiktionary, English translation‘transfer; translation’supine stem of trānsferō
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400translaciounWiktionary, English translation
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500translaciounWiktionary, English translation‘transfer, translation’
  5. EnglishtodaytranslationWiktionary, English translation

Word family

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

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’

  • bar ← barre ← barre ← *barra ← *barros
  • birth ← birthe ← burðr ← *burþiz ← *bʰértis
  • prefer ← preferren ← preferer ← praeferō ← *praiferō
  • broad ← brood ← brād ← *braid ← *braidaz
  • bread ← brede ← brǣdu ← *braidį̄ ← *braidaz
  • fortune ← fortuna ← *fortūnā ← *bʰr̥-tew-n-éh₂
  • burden ← birthene ← byrden ← *burþini ← *burþī
  • bearing ← beringe ← berende ← *berandz ← *beraną
  • barrel ← barel ← baril ← barre ← *barra
  • barn ← bearn ← *barną ← *bʰor-no-m
  • bore ← bára ← *bērō
  • fury ← fur ← *fōr ← *bʰṓr

429 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from trānsferō →

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 act of translating, in its various senses: The conversion of text from one language to another.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “translation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin translatio. 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 trānsferō / translation