Etymology

momentary

mo·men·ta·ry
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Today it means: Lasting for only a moment. Full definition →

Middle English momentare ← Late Latin mōmentārius
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The story

  1. Late Latin · derived frommōmentārius“of brief duration”
  2. Middle English · inherited frommomentare
  3. English todaymomentary

From Middle English momentare, from Late Latin mōmentārius (“of brief duration”), from mōmentum (“a short time, an instant”). By surface analysis, moment + -ary.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.