Science, ideas & the arts

calculate

Romans did sums by moving pebbles on a counting board; calculus 'little stone' gave Late Latin calculāre 'to reckon', which every Romance language inherited and English took as calculate in the 1500s.

Weakest linkCertain

The road to English

From Latin to English

From Late Latin to French, Romanian

From Late Latin to Italian

From Late Latin to Spanish

From Late Latin to Portuguese

From Late Latin to German

From Late Latin to Polish, Russian

50 BCELatin

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

Export “calculate”

Embed “calculate”

Save “calculate”

Export “calculate”

Embed “calculate”

Save “calculate”