English
agile
Agile comes from Latin agilis ‘agile, nimble’, from agō ‘do, act’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-‘to drive’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 CEagilis‘agile, nimble’
- Englishearliest quotation 1901agile
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-‘to drive’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 CEagilis‘agile, nimble’
- Englishearliest quotation 1901agile
Earliest quotation: 1901, – 1902 April, Mr. Sherlock Holmes: “The man drew out paper and tobacco and twirled…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’
suggest, register, essay, acre, gesture, digest, congestion, belligerent, progesterone, gestation, ingestion, agrarian, ingest, axiomatic, samaj, agitate, gerund, gestion, agger, 128 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
strategy, agony, reactionary, antagonist, axiom, antagonism, agonist, antagonize, stratagem, glucagon, agonize, 102 more
through Proto-Italic *agō ‘to drive’
reaction, actively, transaction, radioactive, inactive, retroactive, unambiguous, hyperactivity, reagent, ambiguously, 80 more
through Latin agō ‘do, act’
act, action, active, activity, actual, actor, agency, agent, examination, examine, agenda, activate, ambiguous, squat, enact, ambiguity, assay, radium, agitation, actuator, cogent, actuation, inexact, exigent, actuate, redact, 97 more
through Latin agilis ‘agile, nimble’
Today it means
adj Having the faculty of quick motion in the limbs; apt or ready to move; loose-jointed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / agile