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Origin and history of sufficient

sufficient(adj.)

"adequate for a purpose, enough," early 14c., from Old French soficient "satisfactory," or directly from Latin sufficientem (nominative sufficiens) "adequate," present participle of sufficere "to supply as a substitute," from sub "up to" (see sub-) + combining form of facere "to make, to do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). It has been used in specialized legal and technical senses since Middle English.

also from early 14c.

Entries linking to sufficient

insufficient(adj.)

late 14c., from Old French insufficient (14c.) or directly from Late Latin insufficientem (nominative insufficiens) "not sufficient," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + sufficientem (see sufficient). Originally of persons, "inadequate, unable;" of things, "lacking in what is necessary or required," from late 15c. Related: Insufficiently.

self-sufficient(adj.)

"able to supply one's own needs, capable of fulfilling one's own desires without aid of others," 1580s, from self- + sufficient. Related: Self-sufficiently. Self-sufficing (1680s) is properly "sufficient for oneself."

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Trends of sufficient

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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sufficiency
late 15c., "sufficient means or wealth," from Late Latin sufficientia, from Latin sufficiens "adequate" (see sufficient) + -cy. By 1530s as "a sufficient number or quantity." The general sense of "state or character of being adequate for the purpose" is by 1560s; that of "a suffi
autarky
1610s, "self-sufficiency," from Greek autarkeia "sufficiency in oneself, independence," from autarkēs "self-sufficient, having...others" (also used of countries), from autos "self" (see auto-) + arkein "to ward off, keep off," also "to be strong enough, sufficient...
competent
late 14c., "suitable, answering all requirements, sufficient, adequate," from Old French competent "sufficient, appropriate...
husky
steering for these islands [Whalefish Islands], the Esquimaux, or "Huskies,"* as the Danes customarily term them, come off in sufficient...numbers to satisfy you that you are near the haunts of uncivilized men, and will afford sufficient information to guide...
assets
1530s, "sufficient estate," from Anglo-French assetz, asetz (singular), from Old French assez "sufficiency, satisfaction;...At first a legal word meaning "sufficient estate" (to satisfy debts and legacies), it passed into a general sense of "property...
enough
c. 1300, from Old English genog "sufficient in quantity or number," from Proto-Germanic compound *ganog "sufficient" (source...As a noun in Old English, "a quantity or number sufficient for the purpose."...
ample
mid-15c., "great, abundant," especially "sufficient for any purpose," from Old French ample "large, wide, vast, great" (12c...
stoop
Middle English stoupen, "bend forward and downward," especially of persons "lower the body by bending forward," from Old English stupian "to bow, bend," from Proto-Germanic *stupojanan (source also of Middle Dutch stupen "to bow, bend," Norwegian stupa "fall, drop"), perhaps from
threshold
Old English þrescold, þærscwold, þerxold, etc., "door-sill, point of entering," a word of uncertain origin and probably much altered by folk-etymology. The first element probably is related to Old English þrescan (see thresh), either in its current sense of "thresh" or with its o
solution
late 14c., solucioun, "explanation, answer; interpretation of a dream; the dissolving of a substance in a liquid, transformation of matter to a liquid state," from Old French solucion "division, dissolving; explanation; payment" and directly from Latin solutionem (nominative solu

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