According to a study by Finkenstaedt, up to 28% of all English words are derived from Latin. The same goes for the word innovation, which finds its roots in the Latin “innovationem” which means the action of renewal or change. “Innovationem” is related to the word “innovare” which means change or renewal. Continuing to decompose “innovare” leads one to “in” and “novus”…. literally “into new.” Novus has interesting origins as well such as describing something new, fresh, young, recent, unusual, or extraordinary. Pulling it all together, revealing the etymology of the roots in their ancient origin leads one to all sorts of inspirational interpretations. What I’ve uncovered from digging into these roots is a more personally inspiring definition of innovation – “action to create the extraordinary.” Almost sounds a bit like magic, doesn’t it? Anyways, regardless of my creative license, hopefully this helps you a bit with your homework assignments.
Sources:
Wikipedia
Online EtymologyDictionary
Wiktionary