sub

Latin

AI-inferred

sub

meaning 'under, up to'; the prefix of support and substitution

Latin

Verified

sufficere

sub + facere, literally 'to put under' or 'provide enough'

from Latin sufficere "put under, lay a foundation under; supply as a substitute; be enough, be adequate,"

fac

Latin

AI-inferred

facere

to do, make

Latin

Verified

sufficere

combined with sub- to mean 'be enough, supply as a substitute'

from Latin sufficere "put under, lay a foundation under; supply as a substitute; be enough, be adequate,"

Combined

sufficere

Latin compound meaning 'to put under' → 'to provide, be adequate'

Old French

Verified

sofire / souffire

meaning 'be sufficient, satisfy'

from Middle French souffire

Middle English

Verified

suffisen

early English form, first intransitive, then transitive

from Middle English suffisen

Modern English

Verified

suffice

kept alive especially in fixed phrases like 'suffice it to say'

from Latin sufficere "put under, lay a foundation under; supply as a substitute; be enough, be adequate,"

Modern English

suffice

Word Ancestry

sub

Latin

AI-inferred

sub

meaning 'under, up to'; the prefix of support and substitution

Latin

Verified

sufficere

sub + facere, literally 'to put under' or 'provide enough'

from Latin sufficere "put under, lay a foundation under; supply as a substitute; be enough, be adequate,"

fac

Latin

AI-inferred

facere

to do, make

Latin

Verified

sufficere

combined with sub- to mean 'be enough, supply as a substitute'

from Latin sufficere "put under, lay a foundation under; supply as a substitute; be enough, be adequate,"

Combined

sufficere

Latin compound meaning 'to put under' → 'to provide, be adequate'

Old French

Verified

sofire / souffire

meaning 'be sufficient, satisfy'

from Middle French souffire

Middle English

Verified

suffisen

early English form, first intransitive, then transitive

from Middle English suffisen

Modern English

Verified

suffice

kept alive especially in fixed phrases like 'suffice it to say'

from Latin sufficere "put under, lay a foundation under; supply as a substitute; be enough, be adequate,"

Modern English

suffice

“

A nice little sleight of hand is hiding inside this word. Latin speakers built sufficere from sub, “under” or “up to,” and facere, “to make,” as if something were being propped up from beneath until it could stand on its own. That same facere family gave English fact, factory, faculty, and feasible, while sub turns up everywhere from submarine to subordinate. By the time the word slid through Old French sofire and Middle English suffisen, it had stopped sounding like carpentry and started sounding like a verdict: enough. And English has kept one especially elegant fossil of that older world in the phrase “suffice it to say,” a little subjunctive relic that sounds like it ought to be carved into a monastery wall.

The Story

“

A nice little sleight of hand is hiding inside this word. Latin speakers built sufficere from sub, “under” or “up to,” and facere, “to make,” as if something were being propped up from beneath until it could stand on its own. That same facere family gave English fact, factory, faculty, and feasible, while sub turns up everywhere from submarine to subordinate. By the time the word slid through Old French sofire and Middle English suffisen, it had stopped sounding like carpentry and started sounding like a verdict: enough. And English has kept one especially elegant fossil of that older world in the phrase “suffice it to say,” a little subjunctive relic that sounds like it ought to be carved into a monastery wall.