*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of equal

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *aikʷos? Old Latin aiquos Latin aequus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin aequālisbor. Middle English eq

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
adj

The same in one or more respects. · The same in value (status, merit, etc): having or deserving the same rights or treatment. · The same in all respects that matter practically; interchangeable, fungible, or (even sometimes) identical for practical purposes. · Exactly identical, having the same value.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *aikʷos? Old Latin aiquos Latin aequus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin aequālisbor. Middle English equal English equal From Middle English equal, from Latin aequālis. Doublet of aequalis and egal.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 4 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:equal",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Italic *aikʷos?\nOld Latin aiquos\nLatin aequus\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-\nProto-Indo-European *-is\nProto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?\nProto-Italic *-ālis\nLatin -ālis\nLatin aequālisbor.\nMiddle English equal\nEnglish equal\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"equal, even\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*aikʷos\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old Latin\", \"term\" : \"aiquos\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"itc-ola\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"aequus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*h₂élis\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"grow\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂el-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-is\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-ālis\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ālis\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"aequālis\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"equal\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"equal\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"equal\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "equal"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English equal"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "aequālis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin aequālis"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "aequalis",
        "3": "egal"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of aequalis and egal"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:equal",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Italic *aikʷos?\nOld Latin aiquos\nLatin aequus\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-\nProto-Indo-European *-is\nProto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?\nProto-Italic *-ālis\nLatin -ālis\nLatin aequālisbor.\nMiddle English equal\nEnglish equal"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*aikʷos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/aikʷos"
    ],
    [
      "aiquos",
      "aiquos#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "aequus",
      "aequus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂el-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂el-#Proto-Indo-European:_grow"
    ],
    [
      "*-is",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-is"
    ],
    [
      "*-ālis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-ālis"
    ],
    [
      "-ālis",
      "-alis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "aequālis",
      "aequalis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "equal",
      "equal#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "equal",
      "equal#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "aequālis",
      "aequalis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "aequalis",
      "aequalis#English"
    ],
    [
      "egal",
      "egal#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Ulithian",
      "lang_code": "uli",
      "word": "ikool’",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "The same in one or more respects.",
        "The same in value (status, merit, etc): having or deserving the same rights or treatment.",
        "The same in all respects that matter practically; interchangeable, fungible, or (even sometimes) identical for practical purposes.",
        "Exactly identical, having the same value."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "usually"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 179069
    }
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    "lexicalSenses": 4,
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}

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

A person or thing of equal status to others. · State of being equal; equality.

verb

To be equal to, to have the same value as; to correspond to. · To make equivalent to; to cause to match. · To match in degree or some other quality, to match up to. · To have as consequence, to amount to, to mean.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *aikʷos? Old Latin aiquos Latin aequus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin aequālisbor. Middle English equal English equal From Middle English equal, from Latin aequālis. Doublet of aequalis and egal.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:equal",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Italic *aikʷos?\nOld Latin aiquos\nLatin aequus\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-\nProto-Indo-European *-is\nProto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?\nProto-Italic *-ālis\nLatin -ālis\nLatin aequālisbor.\nMiddle English equal\nEnglish equal\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"equal, even\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*aikʷos\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old Latin\", \"term\" : \"aiquos\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"itc-ola\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"aequus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*h₂élis\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"grow\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂el-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-is\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-ālis\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ālis\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"aequālis\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"equal\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"equal\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"equal\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "equal"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English equal"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "aequālis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin aequālis"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "aequalis",
        "3": "egal"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of aequalis and egal"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:equal",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Italic *aikʷos?\nOld Latin aiquos\nLatin aequus\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-\nProto-Indo-European *-is\nProto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?\nProto-Italic *-ālis\nLatin -ālis\nLatin aequālisbor.\nMiddle English equal\nEnglish equal"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*aikʷos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/aikʷos"
    ],
    [
      "aiquos",
      "aiquos#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "aequus",
      "aequus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂el-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂el-#Proto-Indo-European:_grow"
    ],
    [
      "*-is",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-is"
    ],
    [
      "*-ālis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-ālis"
    ],
    [
      "-ālis",
      "-alis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "aequālis",
      "aequalis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "equal",
      "equal#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "equal",
      "equal#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "aequālis",
      "aequalis#Latin"
    ],
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      "aequalis",
      "aequalis#English"
    ],
    [
      "egal",
      "egal#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A person or thing of equal status to others.",
        "State of being equal; equality."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable",
        "obsolete"
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 179071
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To be equal to, to have the same value as; to correspond to.",
        "To make equivalent to; to cause to match.",
        "To match in degree or some other quality, to match up to.",
        "To have as consequence, to amount to, to mean."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "copulative",
        "transitive",
        "informal"
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for equal →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
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Permanent entry ID
w-ZXF1YWw