Passive
/ˈpæs.ɪv/noun
Accepting or allowing what happens without active resistance or response.
Did you know?Passive comes from the same Latin root as *patient* and *passion*, so the word family originally centered on enduring, suffering, and being acted upon rather than simply “being quiet.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peh₂-
“to suffer, endure”
Latin
Latin
pati
“to endure, suffer, bear”
Latin
Latin
passivus
“capable of suffering or undergoing; receptive”
Late Latin
Latin
passivus
“subject to action; not active”
14th Century
English
passif
“capable of feeling or suffering; receptive”
Modern English
English
passive
“not acting or operating; accepting or allowing what happens without resistance”
Explore more surprising origins