implement

Where does the word "implement" come from? It comes from Latin implere, passing through Late Latin before entering English (1400s).

Implement’s story begins in Latin: implere meant “to fill up, to fulfill.” To fill up, to fulfill, from in- (into) and plere (to fill). By medieval, the word had taken hold in Late Latin as implementum. That which fills a need, equipment, from implere. It reached English by 1400s as implement. Settled as the English word for a tool, and later, to put a plan into effect. Today, implement means a tool used for a particular task, or to put a plan or decision into effect.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient implere "to fill up, to fulfill", to fill up, to fulfill, from in- (into) and plere (to fill).
2. Stage 2 · Late Latin · medieval implementum "equipment, a tool", that which fills a need, equipment, from implere.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1400s implement "a tool, or to put a plan into effect", settled as the English word for a tool, and later, to put a plan into effect.