'facilitate' originates from Latin via Medieval/Modern Latin and Old French, specifically from the Late Latin/Medieval Latin verb 'facilitare', ultimately based on the Latin adjective 'facilis' meaning 'easy'.

'facilitate' developed from Late Latin 'facilitare' (to make easy), passed into Old French as 'faciliter' and then into Middle English (forms like 'faciliten'), eventually becoming the modern English 'facilitate'.

Initially it meant 'to make easy' (derived from 'easy'), and this basic meaning has been retained; over time it also acquired senses related to 'helping bring about' or 'making possible' in broader contexts.