adequate

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   enough in amount or good enough for a particular purpose

   The room was small but adequate for one person.

2. 2
   adj

   acceptable but not very good; only just good enough

   His written work was adequate but not impressive.

Simplified etymology

Adequate entered English in the early 17th century and ultimately derives from Latin aequus, “equal,” the same Latin root as equal.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Italic *aikʷos Latin aiquos Latin aequus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin aequō Latin adaequō Latin adaequātuslbor. English adequate Learned borrowing from Latin adaequātus, perfect passive participle of adaequō (“to make equal to”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix)), further from ad (“to, towards, at”) + aequō (“to make equal, equalize”), from aequus (“equal”). C…

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