English
abstort
Abstort comes from Latin torqueō ‘I twist’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- ‘to turn, spin’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terkʷ-‘to turn, spin’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*torkʷ-éye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*torkʷejōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*torkʷeōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorqueō‘I twist’
- Englishearliest quotation 1745abstort
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terkʷ-‘to turn, spin’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*torkʷ-éye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*torkʷejōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*torkʷeōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorqueō‘I twist’
- Englishearliest quotation 1745abstort
Earliest quotation: 1745, Christian Ludovici, Teutsch-englisches Lexicon: “he has violently and wrongfully abstorted it from them.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- ‘to turn, spin’
queer, tart, thwart, trowel, tortious, 18 more
through Latin torqueō ‘I twist’
torture, torch, torque, torment, extortion, torsion, distort, retort, extort, tortuous, torturous, contortion, 15 more
Today it means
verb To wrest by force or persuasion.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- / abstort