Etymology

minimalism

M3I1N1I1M3A1L1I1S1M3

Today it means: A style of art that emphasises extreme simplicity of form. Full definition →

English minimal ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← Latin minimum
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*peh₂w-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*peh₂urós
  3. Proto-Italic*pauros
  4. Old Latinparvos
  5. Latinparvus
  6. Latinminimus
  7. Latinminimum
  8. Englishminimum
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  11. Englishminimal
  12. English todayminimalism

From minimal + -ism.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.