English
actuate
Actuate comes from Medieval Latin āctuātus ‘actuated’, from Latin agō ‘do, act’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘do, act’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctusperfect passive participle of agō
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500āctuō‘actuate, implement’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500āctuātus‘actuated’perfect passive participle of āctuō
- Englishearliest quotation 1712actuate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘do, act’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctusperfect passive participle of agō
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500āctuō‘actuate, implement’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500āctuātus‘actuated’perfect passive participle of āctuō
- Englishearliest quotation 1712actuate
Earliest quotation: 1712, FRIDAY, December 22, 1711: “Men of the greatest abilities are most fired with…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
suggest, register, essay, digest, gesture, acre, congestion, agrarian, belligerent, ingestion, progesterone, ingest, gestation, axiomatic, agger, samaj, agitate, gerund, gestion, 131 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
strategy, agony, antagonist, axiom, reactionary, antagonism, agonist, antagonize, glucagon, stratagem, agonize, 105 more
through Proto-Italic *agō ‘to drive’
reaction, transaction, actively, radioactive, inactive, unambiguous, reagent, retroactive, hyperactivity, ambiguously, 83 more
through Latin agō ‘do, act’
agency, action, agent, act, active, activity, agenda, examine, examination, ambiguous, agile, ambiguity, agility, assay, activate, agitation, squat, enact, radium, cogent, exigent, inexact, redact, 100 more
through Latin āctus
Today it means
verb To activate, or to put into motion; to animate.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / actuate