adept

Where does the word "adept" come from? It comes from Latin adeptus, and was adopted directly into English (1650s).

Adept’s story begins in Latin: adeptus meant “having attained, achieved.” Literally having attained, an alchemist's term for one who had achieved the philosopher's stone. It reached English by 1650s as adept. Broadened from alchemical mastery to skill in any pursuit; first recorded in 1650 in the hermetic writings of the alchemist Thomas Vaughan. Today, adept means very skilled or proficient at something.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient adeptus "having attained, achieved", literally having attained, an alchemist's term for one who had achieved the philosopher's stone.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1650s adept "very skilled or proficient at something", broadened from alchemical mastery to skill in any pursuit; first recorded in 1650 in the hermetic writings of the alchemist Thomas Vaughan.