The story
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts?
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂m̥bʰí
- Proto-Italic*amβi-
- Latinambi-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁ey-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁éyti
- Proto-Italic*ejō
- Proto-Italic*eō
- Latineō
- Latinambiō
- Latinambitiō
- Old Frenchambition
- Middle Englishambicioun
- English todayambition
From Middle English ambicioun, from Old French ambition, from Latin ambitiō (“ambition, a striving for favor, literally 'a going around', especially of candidates for office in Rome soliciting votes”), from ambiō (“to go around, solicit votes”). See ambient, issue. By surface analysis, ambit + -ion.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.