Etymograph

English

visual

Visual comes from Middle English visual, from Late Latin vīsuālis ‘of sight’, from vīsus ‘sight’, from videō ‘to see’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvideō1‘to see’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīsus1‘seen; sight’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEvīsuālis1‘of sight’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentvisuel1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500visual1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2013visual1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English visual
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, -June, An Acoustic Arms Race: “Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvideōWiktionary, English visual‘to see’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīsusWiktionary, English visual‘seen; sight’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEvīsuālisWiktionary, English visual‘of sight’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentvisuelWiktionary, English visual
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500visualWiktionary, English visual
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2013visualWiktionary, English visual. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, -June, An Acoustic Arms Race: “Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats…”

Linked words

through Latin vīdērunt ‘to see, perceive’

survey, visible, envy, 1 more

through Latin vīsus ‘sight, vision’

advice, vision, advise, improvise, visage, 7 more

Today it means

adj Related to or affecting the vision.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “visual”. 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 videō / visual

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