Etymology Map
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Identity

2 stages from Late Latin to English.

Today it means the fact of being who or what a person or thing is

Where does the word "identity" come from? It comes from Late Latin identitas, adopted directly into English (1560s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
identitas
Late Latin · late antiquity
"sameness"
coined by philosophers from idem 'the same', probably on the model of entitas 'being'
2
Stage 2 of 2
identity
English · 1560s
"who someone is"
came via Middle French identité; John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1694 edition) added a famous chapter 'Of Identity and Diversity', and Britain issued identity cards from 1939 to 1952
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Identity’s story begins in Late Latin: identitas meant “sameness.” Coined by philosophers from idem 'the same', probably on the model of entitas 'being'. It reached English by 1560s as identity. Came via Middle French identité; John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1694 edition) added a famous chapter 'Of Identity and Diversity', and Britain issued identity cards from 1939 to 1952. Today, identity means the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.