Difficult
/ˈdɪf.ɪ.kəlt/noun
Hard to do, understand, or deal with.
Did you know?Difficult ultimately comes from Latin difficilis, built from dis- (“not”) + facilis (“easy to do”), and facilis is tied to fac- (“to do/make”), the same ancient root behind fate and fact.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dʰeh₁-
“to do, put, make”
Latin
Latin
facere
“to do, make”
Latin
Latin
facilis
“easy to do, manageable”
Latin
Latin
difficilis
“not easy, hard to do”
Old French
Old French
dificile
“hard, troublesome”
Middle English
English
difficile / difficulte
“hard, troublesome; hardship”
Modern English
English
difficult
“hard to do, understand, or deal with”