apt (adj.)
mid-14c., "inclined, disposed;" late 14c., "suited, fitted, adapted, possessing the necessary qualities for the purpose," from Old French ate "fitting, suitable, appropriate" (13c., Modern French apte), or directly from Latin aptus "fit, suited, proper, appropriate," adjectival use of past participle of *apere "to attach, join, tie to." This is reconstructed to be from PIE root *ap- (1) "to grasp, take, reach" (source also of Sanskrit apnoti "he reaches," Latin apisci "to reach after, attain," Hittite epmi "I seize"). The elliptical sense of "becoming, appropriate" is from 1560s.
Entries linking to apt
early 15c. (implied in adapted) "to fit (something, for some purpose)," from Old French adapter (14c.), from Latin adaptare "adjust, fit to," from ad "to" (see ad-) + aptare "to join," from aptus "fitted" (see apt). Intransitive meaning "to undergo modification so as to fit new circumstances" is from 1956. Related: Adapting.
c. 1600, "action of adapting (something to something else)," from French adaptation, from Late Latin adaptationem (nominative adaptatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of adaptare "to adjust," from ad "to" (see ad-) + aptare "to join," from aptus "fitted" (see apt).
The meaning "condition of being adapted, state of being fitted to circumstances or relations" is from 1670s. The sense of "modification of a thing to suit new conditions" is from 1790. The biological sense of "variations in a living thing to suit changed conditions" is by 1859, in Darwin's writings.
Trends of apt
updated on September 24, 2022
