translation (English)
Where does "translation" come from?
The English noun translation descends from Middle English 'translacioun', meaning 'transfer, translation'[1]. This Middle English term was borrowed from Anglo-Norman 'translacioun'[1][3], which in turn derived from Latin 'trānslātiō'[1][3]. The Latin noun is formed from the supine stem 'trānslāt-' combined with the suffix '-tiō'[2], originating from the verb 'trānsferō', meaning 'to transfer, transport, transform, translate'[1]. The verb 'trānsferō' itself combines the prefix 'trāns-', meaning 'beyond'[4], with 'ferō', meaning 'to bear, carry'[4], tracing ultimately back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*telh₂-' via its historical stems[5].
Full etymology tree
- translation (English), 'The act of translating, in its various senses:'
- inherited translacioun (Middle English), 'Relocation, removal (to another location)'
- borrowed translacioun (Anglo-Norman)
- inherited translatio (Latin), 'Translation, in the broadest sense: the process of transferring or carrying something over from one thing to another; in particular:'
- derived trānslferō (Latin)
- compound trans- (Latin), 'through, across, beyond'
- compound fero (Latin), 'to consider'
- inherited *ferō (Proto-Italic), 'to carry, bear'
- inherited *bʰéreti (Proto-Indo-European), 'to be carrying'
- derived *bʰer- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to bear, carry'
- inherited *bʰéreti (Proto-Indo-European), 'to be carrying'
- inherited *ferō (Proto-Italic), 'to carry, bear'
- suffix -tio (Latin), '-tion, -ation, -ing; suffixed to verbs to form action nouns denoting a process, action, or result of an action.'
- derived trānslferō (Latin)
- inherited translatio (Latin), 'Translation, in the broadest sense: the process of transferring or carrying something over from one thing to another; in particular:'
- borrowed translacioun (Anglo-Norman)
- inherited translacioun (Middle English), 'Relocation, removal (to another location)'
Ancestors
- translacioun (Middle English)
- translatio (Latin)
Descendants and derived words
- autotranslation (English)
- back-translation (English)
- bridge translation (English)
- computer-aided translation (English)
- cotranslation (English)
- fanlation (English)
- fanslation (English)
- Fortran (English)
- gyrotranslation (English)
- hypertranslation (English)
- intertranslation (English)
- loan translation (English)
Sources
- translation (English) - Wiktionary
- translatio (Latin) - Wiktionary
- translacioun (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- transfero (Latin) - Wiktionary
- fero (Latin) - Wiktionary
- ferō (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary
- bʰéreti (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- tetólh₂e (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- tl̥h₂tós (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris