Imminence
/ˈɪm.ɪ.nəns/noun
The quality of being about to happen very soon.
Did you know?Imminence comes from Latin *imminēre*, “to overhang, threaten,” a word used for things looming overhead like danger itself.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mei-
“to go, move”
Latin
Latin
minēre
“to project, jut out, stand over”
Latin
Latin
imminēre
“to overhang; to threaten, be impending”
Late Latin
Latin
imminentia
“the state of being impending or threatening”
Middle English
English
imminence
“the condition of being about to happen”