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Origin and history of futurity

futurity(n.)

c. 1600, from future + -ity.

also from c. 1600

Entries linking to futurity

future(adj.)

late 14c., "that is yet to be; pertaining to a time after the present," from Old French futur "future, to come" (13c.), from Latin futurus "going to be, yet to be," as a noun, "the future," irregular suppletive future participle of esse "to be," from PIE root *bheue- "to be, exist, grow." In grammar, of tense, from 1520s.

-ity

word-forming element making abstract nouns from adjectives and meaning "condition or quality of being ______," from Middle English -ite, from Old French -ete (Modern French -ité) and directly from Latin -itatem (nominative -itas), suffix denoting state or condition, composed of -i- (from the stem or else a connective) + the common abstract suffix -tas (see -ty (2)).

Roughly, the word in -ity usually means the quality of being what the adjective describes, or concretely an instance of the quality, or collectively all the instances; & the word in -ism means the disposition, or collectively all those who feel it. [Fowler]
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    shall
    The original senses are obsolete; the meaning shifted in Middle English from obligation to include futurity....
    manana
    from Spanish mañana, "tomorrow," from cras manñana, literally "tomorrow early," from Vulgar Latin *maneana "early," from Latin mane "in the morning," from PIE *ma- "good," with notion of "occurring at a good time, timely, early" (compare matins; and see mature (v.)). "Often taken
    item
    late 14c., originally an adverb, "moreover, in addition," from Latin item (adv.) "likewise, just so, moreover," probably from ita "thus," id "it" (see id) + adverbial ending -tem (compare idem "the same"). The Latin adverb was used to introduce a new fact or statement, and in Fre
    time
    Old English tima "limited space of time," from Proto-Germanic *timon- "time" (source also of Old Norse timi "time, proper time," Swedish timme "an hour"), from PIE *di-mon-, suffixed form of root *da- "to divide." The abstract sense of "time as an indefinite continuous duration"
    mite
    "tiny animal, minute arachnid," Old English mite "minute, parasitic insect or arachnid," from Proto-Germanic *miton (source also of Middle Dutch mite, Dutch mijt, Old High German miza, Danish mide) meaning originally perhaps "the cutter," in reference to its bite, from Proto-Germ
    past
    early 14c., "done with, over, existing no more," a variant of passed, past participle of passen "go by" (see pass (v.)). Meaning "gone by, belonging to a time previous to this" is from mid-14c. The grammatical sense of "expressing past action or state" is from 1520s; past partici
    taps
    U.S. military signal for lights out in soldiers' quarters (played 15 minutes after tattoo), by 1824, from plural of tap (n.2), on the notion of drum taps (the call originally was played on a drum, later on a bugle). As a soldier's last farewell, played over the grave, it may date
    come
    elementary intransitive verb of motion, Old English cuman "to move with the purpose of reaching, or so as to reach, some point; to arrive by movement or progression;" also "move into view, appear, become perceptible; come to oneself, recover; arrive; assemble" (class IV strong ve
    plunge
    late 14c., plungen, "to put, throw, or thrust violently into; immerse, submerge," also intransitive, from Old French plongier "plunge, sink into; plunge into, dive in" (mid-12c., Modern French plonger), from Vulgar Latin *plumbicare "to heave the lead," from Latin plumbum "lead"
    game
    c. 1200, from Old English gamen "joy, fun; game, amusement," common Germanic (cognates: Old Frisian game "joy, glee," Old Norse gaman "game, sport; pleasure, amusement," Old Saxon gaman, Old High German gaman "sport, merriment," Danish gamen, Swedish gamman "merriment"), said to

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