Etymograph

English

abstruse

Abstruse comes from Latin abstrūsus ‘concealed, hidden’, from trūdō ‘to push, shove’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *trewd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*trewd-‘to push’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*troudōreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrūdō‘to push, shove’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstrūdō‘to conceal, hide’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstrūsus‘concealed, hidden’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1612abstruse

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*trewd-‘to push’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*troudōreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrūdō‘to push, shove’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstrūdō‘to conceal, hide’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstrūsus‘concealed, hidden’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1612abstruse

Earliest quotation: 1612, Miguel de Cervantes, London: […] William Stansby: “O vvho is he that could carrie nevves to…”

The story

Learned borrowing from Latin abstrūsus (‘concealed, hidden; having been concealed’), an adjective use of the perfect passive participle of abstrūdō (‘to conceal, hide; to push or thrust away’), from abs- (from ab- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; away from’)) + trūdō (‘to push, shove; to thrust’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *trewd- (‘to push; to thrust’)).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *trewd- ‘to push’

threat, thrust, protrude, protrusion, 10 more

through Latin trūdō ‘to push, shove’

intrude, extrusion, 9 more

Today it means

adj Difficult to comprehend or understand; obscure.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *trewd- / abstruse

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