Etymology

understate

un·der·state
U1N1D2E1R1S1T1A1T1E1

Today it means: To state (something) with less completeness than needed; to minimise or downplay. Full definition →

English state ← Middle English stat ← Old French estat
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁entér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
  4. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰí
  6. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰér
  7. Proto-Germanic*under
  8. Proto-West Germanic*undar
  9. Old Englishunder-
  10. Middle Englishunder-
  11. Englishunder-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*stéh₂-tu-s ~ *sth₂-téw-s
  14. Proto-Italic*status
  15. Latinstatu
  16. Old Frenchestat
  17. Middle Englishstat
  18. Englishstate
  19. English todayunderstate

From under- + state.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.