Etymograph

English

abolish

Abolish comes from Middle French aboliss-, from Latin abolēre ‘to retard, check the growth of, destroy, abolish’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-root as named
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabolēscōas abolēscere‘to wither, vanish, cease’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabolēre‘to retard, check the growth of, destroy, abolish’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600aboliss-
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abolisshen
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590abolish

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-root as named
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabolēscōas abolēscere‘to wither, vanish, cease’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabolēre‘to retard, check the growth of, destroy, abolish’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600aboliss-
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abolisshen
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590abolish

Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser: “And with thy blood abolish so reproachful blot.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

as, all, old, else, adult, el, ultimate, element, ultra, alternate, elder, alien, alter, ellen, altitude, alumni, outrage, alt, altar, ou, qualification, alpine, alto, adolescent, alum, alias, alp, auld, retaliate, alimony, ulterior, alibi, parallax, proletariat, altruism, coalesce, exalt, foetal, althea, altimeter, 67 more

Today it means

verb To end a law, system, institution, custom or practice.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- / abolish

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