adapt

Where does the word "adapt" come from? It comes from Latin aptus, passing through Latin before entering English (1600s).

Adapt’s story begins in Latin: aptus meant “fit, suitable.” Fit, suitable, combined with ad- (to). Within Latin, it grew into adaptare by ancient. To fit to, from ad- and aptare (frequentative of apere, to fasten). It reached English by 1600s as adapt. First recorded in 1531 in Thomas Elyot's 'The Boke named the Governour', which deliberately imported Latin words into English. Today, adapt means to adjust or modify something to suit new conditions or a new purpose.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient aptus "fit, suitable", fit, suitable, combined with ad- (to).
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient adaptare "to fit to", to fit to, from ad- and aptare (frequentative of apere, to fasten).
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s adapt "to adjust something to suit new conditions", first recorded in 1531 in Thomas Elyot's 'The Boke named the Governour', which deliberately imported Latin words into English.