Etymology Map
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Option

3 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means a choice

Where does the word "option" come from? It comes from Latin optio, passing through French before entering English (1600s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
optio
Latin · ancient
"free choice"
from 'optare', to choose, the root of 'adopt'
2
Stage 2 of 3
option
French · 1500s
"option"
Latin 'optio' meant free choice, from 'optare', to wish; the stock-market sense is recorded from 1755
3
Stage 3 of 3
option
English · 1600s
"choice"
stock 'options' date from the 1700s
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Read the full story

Option’s story begins in Latin: optio meant “free choice.” From 'optare', to choose, the root of 'adopt'. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in French as option. Latin 'optio' meant free choice, from 'optare', to wish; the stock-market sense is recorded from 1755. It reached English by 1600s as option. Stock 'options' date from the 1700s. Today, option means a choice.