English
alimony
Alimony comes from Latin alimōnia ‘food, support, nourishment, sustenance’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-‘to grow, nourish’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂életi‘grow, nourish’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*alōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalō‘to feed, to nourish, to nurture’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEalimōnia‘food, support, nourishment, sustenance’
- Englishearliest quotation 1626alimony
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-‘to grow, nourish’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂életi‘grow, nourish’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*alōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalō‘to feed, to nourish, to nurture’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEalimōnia‘food, support, nourishment, sustenance’
- Englishearliest quotation 1626alimony
Earliest quotation: 1626, Sampson Price: “[…]while we eate the bread of sorrow, drinking the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow, nourish’
as, all, old, else, adult, el, element, ultimate, ultra, elder, ellen, alternate, outrage, alien, alter, ou, altitude, alumni, adolescent, altar, alt, qualification, alpine, abolish, alto, alum, alias, proletariat, auld, ulterior, alp, retaliate, altruism, parallax, alibi, coalesce, foetal, exalt, aad, eld, 67 more
through Latin alō ‘to feed, to nourish, to nurture’
Today it means
noun A court-mandated allowance made to a former spouse by a divorced or legally separated person.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- / alimony