adhesive

Where does the word "adhesive" come from? It comes from Latin haerere, passing through Latin before entering English (1670s).

Adhesive’s story begins in Latin: haerere meant “to stick, to cling.” To stick, to cling, combined with ad- (to), with irregular past participle haesus. Within Latin, it grew into adhaesus by ancient. Stuck to, past participle of adhaerere. It reached English by 1670s as adhesive. First recorded in 1661 in the natural philosopher Kenelm Digby, part of the new scientific vocabulary drawn from Latin. Today, adhesive means a substance, such as glue, used to stick things together.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient haerere "to stick, to cling", to stick, to cling, combined with ad- (to), with irregular past participle haesus.
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient adhaesus "stuck to", stuck to, past participle of adhaerere.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1670s adhesive "a substance used to stick things together", first recorded in 1661 in the natural philosopher Kenelm Digby, part of the new scientific vocabulary drawn from Latin.