fix (English)

Where does "fix" come from?

The English verb 'fix' descends from Middle English 'fixen'[1], which was borrowed from Old French[1]. This ultimately traces back to the Latin adjective 'fīxus', meaning 'immovable; steady; stable; fixed', derived from the verb 'fīgō' meaning 'to drive in; stick; fasten'[1]. These Latin forms extend back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*dʰeygʷ-', meaning 'to jab; stick; set'[1].

Full etymology tree

• fix (English), 'To pierce; now generally replaced by transfix.'
  • inherited fixen (Middle English), 'a vixen (female fox)'
    • borrowed *fixer (Old French)
      • derived fix (Old French), 'fixed (not able to move)'
        • inherited fixus (Latin), 'unwavering'
          • derived figo (Latin), 'to fasten, fix'
            • derived fīx- (Latin)
            • influenced by stringo (Latin), 'to draw tight together, to tie together'
            • derived fivo (Latin), 'Old Latin form of fīgō (“to fasten”)'
              • inherited *feigʷō (Proto-Italic), 'to insert'
                • derived *θeigʷō (Proto-Italic)
                  • inherited *dʰéygʷeti (Proto-Indo-European)
                    • derived *dʰeygʷ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to stick into, pierce'

Ancestors

• *dʰeygʷ- (Proto-Indo-European)
• fixen (Middle English)
• fixus (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• fiksen (Dutch)
• fixen (Dutch)
• affix (English)
• affix (English)
• affixative (English)
• biofix (English)
• cryofix (English)
• fixability (English)
• fixable (English)
• fixed (English)
• fixed (English)
• fixer-upper (English)

Sources

1. fix (English) - Wiktionary
2. fixus (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. fixen (Middle English) - Wiktionary
4. fuhsini (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
5. fyxen (Old English) - Wiktionary
6. fuhsinī (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
7. fuhsaz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
8. fix (Old French) - Wiktionary
9. figo (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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