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Where does the word "contact" come from? It comes from Latin contingere, and was adopted directly into English (1620s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "contact" come from? It comes from Latin contingere, and was adopted directly into English (1620s).
Contact’s story begins in Latin: contingere meant “to touch closely.” To touch closely, from com- (together) and tangere (to touch), with irregular past participle contactus. It reached English by 1620s as contact. Settled as the English word for the state of touching or communicating with something. Today, contact means the state of physical touching, or to communicate with someone.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient contingere "to touch closely", to touch closely, from com- (together) and tangere (to touch), with irregular past participle contactus.
- Stage 2 · English · 1620s contact "the state of touching, or to communicate with someone", settled as the English word for the state of touching or communicating with something.