information (English)

Where does "information" come from?

The word 'information' traces its roots to the Latin 'īnfōrmātiō,' which originally meant 'formation,' 'conception,' or 'education.' Derived from the verb 'īnformāre', meaning to give shape or form to something, the term traveled into English through Anglo-Norman and Middle English. Over time, the meaning evolved from physically 'giving form' to an object, to the increasingly abstract act of 'giving form' to the mind through knowledge and instruction.

Full etymology tree

• information (English), 'Something that provides a definitive characterization or description of the nature and attributes of a specified entity.'
  • suffix inform (English), 'To instruct, train (usually in matters of knowledge).'
    • inherited informen (Middle English)
      • borrowed enformer (Old French)
        • inherited informare (Latin), 'inflection of īnfōrmō:'
          • prefix in- (Latin), 'un-, non-, not'
            • inherited *en (Proto-Italic), 'in'
              • inherited *h₁en (Proto-Indo-European)
          • derived formare (Latin), 'inflection of fōrmō:'
            • derived forma (Latin), 'form; figure, shape, appearance'
  • suffix -ation (English), 'An action or process.'
    • inherited -ation (Middle English), 'alternative form of -acioun'
      • borrowed -ation (Old French), '-ation'
        • borrowed -atio (Latin), 'Form of -tiō appended to nouns'
          • derived -tio (Latin), '-tion, -ation, -ing; suffixed to verbs to form action nouns denoting a process, action, or result of an action.'
            • inherited *-tjō (Proto-Italic), 'Forms action or result nouns from verb stems.'
              • inherited *-tis (Proto-Indo-European), 'Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots.'

Direct ancestors

• enformacioun (Middle English)
• informatio (Latin)
• inform (English)

Updated June 2026

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