Etymology Map
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Future

2 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means the time yet to come

Where does the word "future" come from? It comes from Latin futurus, adopted directly into English (1300s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
futurus
Latin · classical
"about to be"
'about to be', the future participle of esse 'to be'; Cicero's De Divinatione (44 BC) debates whether the future can be foreseen
2
Stage 2 of 2
future
English · 1300s
"time to come"
came via Old French futur; Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's Futurist Manifesto of 1909 made 'the future' an artistic creed
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Read the full story

Future’s story begins in Latin: futurus meant “about to be.” 'about to be', the future participle of esse 'to be'; Cicero's De Divinatione (44 BC) debates whether the future can be foreseen. It reached English by 1300s as future. Came via Old French futur; Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's Futurist Manifesto of 1909 made 'the future' an artistic creed. Today, future means the time yet to come.