factory

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

Factory’s story begins in Latin: facere meant “to make, to do.” The root of 'fact', 'faction' and 'manufacture'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Late Latin as factorium. A place where things are made, from facere. It reached English by 1600s as factory. Settled as the English word for a building where goods are manufactured. Today, factory means a building or set of buildings where goods are manufactured.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient facere "to make, to do", the root of 'fact', 'faction' and 'manufacture'.
2. Stage 2 · Late Latin · medieval factorium "a place where things are made", a place where things are made, from facere.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s factory "a building where goods are manufactured", settled as the English word for a building where goods are manufactured.