frequency

Where does the word "frequency" come from? It comes from Latin frequentia, and was adopted directly into English (1550s).

Frequency’s story begins in Latin: frequentia meant “a crowding, abundance.” A crowding, an abundance, from frequens (crowded, frequent). It reached English by 1550s as frequency. Narrowed to mean the rate of occurrence or oscillation of something. Today, frequency means the rate at which something occurs or a wave oscillates over time.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient frequentia "a crowding, abundance", a crowding, an abundance, from frequens (crowded, frequent).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1550s frequency "the rate at which something occurs or oscillates", narrowed to mean the rate of occurrence or oscillation of something.