Etymology

aim

A1I1M3

Today it means: The pointing of a weapon, as a gun, a dart, or an arrow, or object, in the line of direction with the object intended to be struck; the line of fire; the direction of anything, such as a spear, a blow, a discourse, a remark, towards a particular point or object, with a view to strike or affect it. Full definition →

Middle English amen ← Old French esmer ← Latin ad-
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The story

  1. Old French · derived fromaesme
  2. Middle English · inherited fromame
  3. Latin · derived fromad-
  4. Old French · derived fromesmer
  5. Middle English · inherited fromamen
  6. English todayaim

The verb is from Middle English amen, aimen, eimen (“to guess at, to estimate, to aim”), borrowed from Old French esmer, aesmer, asmer, from Latin ad- plus aestimare (“to estimate”), the compound perhaps being originally formed in Medieval Latin (adaestimare), perhaps in Old French. The noun is from Middle English ame, from Old French aesme, esme.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishamen all →

amen

Latinad- all →

achieveassurearrestaffairaccordamortizationaccoladeafforestationassuageadsorbac-accollaccouchementad-an-animadvertappresentationar-as-at-

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.