information (French)

Where does "information" come from?

The word "information" comes to English from Old French, which borrowed it from the Latin term "īnformatio." In Latin, this was formed from "informo," meaning "to shape or form," combined with the suffix "-tiō," indicating an action or process. Tracing further back, "informo" itself is built from the prefix "in-" (not) and "formo" (to shape), with roots reaching into Ancient Greek and Proto-Indo-European languages. Over time, the term evolved from the idea of shaping or giving form to something to the modern sense of conveying data, news, or knowledge.

Full etymology tree

• information (French), 'piece of information; datum'
  • borrowed from informatio (Latin), 'sketch, idea, conception'
    • derived from informo (Latin), 'to form, mould, fashion, give shape to'
      • prefix in- (Latin), 'un-, non-, not'
        • inherited from *ən- (Proto-Italic), 'un-'
          • inherited from *n̥- (Proto-Indo-European), 'not, un-'
            • inherited from *né (Proto-Indo-European), 'not'
      • derived from formo (Latin), 'to shape, form, fashion, format'
        • derived from fōrma (Latin), 'form; figure, shape, appearance'
          • borrowed from μορφή (Ancient Greek), 'shape, form'
    • suffix -tiō (Latin), '-tion, -ation, -ing; suffixed to verbs to form action nouns denoting a process, action, or result of an action.'
      • inherited from *-tjō (Proto-Italic), 'Forms action or result nouns from verb stems.'
        • inherited from *tisder (ine-pro)

Ancestors

• informatio (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• autoroute de l'information (French)
• relevé d'informations (French)

Updated February 2026

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