intentional (English)

Where does "intentional" come from?

The English noun 'intentional' was borrowed directly from Medieval Latin 'intentiōnālis'[1]. In philosophical contexts, it came to denote an object defined purely by consciousness being directed toward it, and it was also historically applied as a grammatical term for certain cohortative constructions.

Full etymology tree

• intentional (English), 'Something that has no essential underlying structure but apparition only as defined by perception; object only because consciousness is directed to it.'
  • borrowed intentiōnālis (Medieval Latin)

Sources

1. intentional (English) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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