English
ascension
Ascension comes from Old French ascension ‘ascent’, from Latin ascendō ‘to climb up, to go up, to move upwards’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump up, ascend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skend-‘to jump up, ascend’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skandōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscandō‘climb’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEascendō‘to climb up, to go up, to move upwards’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEascēnsiōas ascēnsiō‘ascent’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ascension‘ascent’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ascencioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1683ascension
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skend-‘to jump up, ascend’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skandōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscandō‘climb’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEascendō‘to climb up, to go up, to move upwards’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEascēnsiōas ascēnsiō‘ascent’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ascension‘ascent’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ascencioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1683ascension
Earliest quotation: 1683, Thomas Browne, Observations upon Several Plants Mention’d in Scripture: “vaporous ascensions from the stomach”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump up, ascend’
slander, scandalous, descend, escalator, scala, echelon, skein, 11 more
through Latin scandō ‘climb’
Today it means
noun The act of ascending; an ascent.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *skend- / ascension