Etymograph

English

absent

Absent comes from Latin absēns ‘absent, missing, away, away from, distant,…’, from sum ‘to be, exist’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰúHt‘to become’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ezom~*somreconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCE𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌esom
  5. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEesum
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsum‘to be, exist’
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsum‘to be away from’
  8. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsēns‘absent, missing, away, away from, distant, gone, gone away’next step skipped: Old French ausentpresent participle of absum
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500absent
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1623same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰúHt‘to become’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ezom~*somreconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCE𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌esom
  5. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEesum
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsum‘to be, exist’
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsum‘to be away from’
  8. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsēns‘absent, missing, away, away from, distant, gone, gone away’next step skipped: Old French ausentpresent participle of absum
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500absent
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1623same form

Earliest quotation: 1623, William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well: “Expecting absent friends.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’

be, been, build, physical, bond, bush, bound, contribution, physician, booth, probability, distribute, favorable, fiat, bun, contributor, bouquet, retribution, attribution, favourable, imp, rebuke, bower, beamer, bosque, aren, physic, phylum, phylogeny, approbation, boor, bist, futur, 76 more

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt ‘to become’

power, possible, bondage, impossibility, impotent, busk, 13 more

through Archaic Latin 𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌

representation, 8 more

through Old Latin esum

represent, presentation, 9 more

through Latin sum ‘to be, exist’

future, improve, proud, present, pride, presence, approve, essential, entity, prowess, prude, prow, 14 more

Another origin of absent

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰúHt‘to become’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ezom~*somreconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCE𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌esom
  5. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEesum
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsum‘to be’
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsum‘to be away, to be absent, to be distant’
  8. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabsēns‘absent, missing, away, away from, distant, gone, gone away’
  9. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEabsentoas absentāre‘keep away, be away’
  10. Old Frenchc. 842–1400absenter
  11. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500absenten
  12. Englishtodayabsent

Today it means

adj Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; existing but not present; (sometimes) missing.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- / absent

Shirt and support for this word