Etymology

sedative

sed·a·tive
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Today it means: An agent or drug that sedates, having a calming or soothing effect, or inducing sleep. Full definition →

Middle English sedatif ← Anglo-Norman sedatif ← Medieval Latin sēdātīvus
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The story

  1. Medieval Latin · derived fromsēdātīvus
  2. Anglo-Norman · derived fromsedatif
  3. Middle English · inherited fromsedatif
  4. English todaysedative

Inherited from Middle English sedatif, from Anglo-Norman sedatif, from Medieval Latin sēdātīvus, which itself likely influenced the modern spelling. By surface analysis, sedate + -ive.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.