'adoption' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'adoptio,' where 'ad-' meant 'toward' and 'optare' meant 'to choose.'

'adoptio' transformed into the Old French word 'adoption,' and eventually became the modern English word 'adoption' through Middle English.

Initially, it meant 'to choose or select,' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'taking someone else's child as one's own.'