important (English)

Where does "important" come from?

The word 'important' traces its roots back to the Medieval Latin 'importans', which served as the present participle of 'importō', meaning 'to bring in' or 'to signify'. It entered Middle English as 'important' before eventually displacing native Old English terms like 'heah' and 'hefig' to describe things of great consequence or weight. Over time, the term expanded from denoting simple factual relevance to describing individuals who carry an air of self-importance.

Full etymology tree

• important (English), 'Having relevant and crucial value; having import.'
  • inherited important (Middle English)
    • borrowed importans (Latin), 'importing'
      • derived importo (Latin), 'to bring, carry or convey into; bring in from abroad, import'
        • prefix in- (Latin), 'un-, non-, not'
        • derived porto (Latin), 'to carry, bear'

Direct ancestors

• importans (Latin)
• -ant (English)

Updated May 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris