Etymology

inefficient

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Today it means: Not efficient; not producing the effect intended or desired; inefficacious. Full definition →

English efficient ← Middle English in- ← Latin in-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Italic*n̥-
  4. Latinin-
  5. Middle Englishin-
  6. Englishin-
  7. Englishefficient
  8. English todayinefficient

From in- + efficient.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.