interesting (English)
Where does "interesting" come from?
The word "interesting" grew from the Latin verb "interesse," which literally meant "to be between" or "to make a difference." This concept moved through Old French and Middle English as "interest," initially referring to a legal or financial stake in something. By attaching the English suffix "-ing," the word evolved from describing a functional concern into its modern sense of capturing one's curiosity or attention.
Full etymology tree
- interesting (English), 'present participle and gerund of interest'
- suffix interest (English), 'The price paid for obtaining, or price received for providing, money or goods in a credit transaction, calculated as a fraction of the amount or value of what was borrowed.'
- inherited from interest (Middle English)
- borrowed from interest (Old French)
- inherited from interesse (Latin), 'present active infinitive of intersum'
- compound of inter (Latin), 'between, among'
- inherited from *ənter (Proto-Italic), 'between'
- inherited from *h₁entér (Proto-Indo-European), 'between'
- suffix *h₁én (Proto-Indo-European), 'in'
- suffix *-tér (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited from *h₁entér (Proto-Indo-European), 'between'
- inherited from *ənter (Proto-Italic), 'between'
- compound of sum (Latin), 'to be, exist'
- clipping of esum (Latin), 'alternative form of sum'
- inherited from *ezom (Proto-Italic), 'to be'
- inherited from *h₁ésmi (Proto-Indo-European), 'first-person singular present indicative of *h₁ésti'
- derived from *h₁es- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to be'
- inherited from *h₁ésmi (Proto-Indo-European), 'first-person singular present indicative of *h₁ésti'
- inherited from *ezom (Proto-Italic), 'to be'
- clipping of esum (Latin), 'alternative form of sum'
- compound of inter (Latin), 'between, among'
- inherited from interesse (Latin), 'present active infinitive of intersum'
- borrowed from interest (Old French)
- inherited from interest (Middle English)
- suffix -ing (English), 'Used to form nouns or noun-like words (or elements of noun phrases) from verbs, denoting the act of doing something, an action, or the embodiment of an action.'
- inherited from -ing (Middle English), 'alternative form of -ynge (gerund)'
- inherited from -ing (Old English), 'Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action, process or material.'
- inherited from *-ingu (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited from *-ingō (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited from *-ingu (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited from -ing (Old English), 'Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action, process or material.'
- inherited from -ing (Middle English), 'alternative form of -ynge (gerund)'
- suffix interest (English), 'The price paid for obtaining, or price received for providing, money or goods in a credit transaction, calculated as a fraction of the amount or value of what was borrowed.'
Direct ancestors
Updated April 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris