English
communicate
Communicate comes from Latin commūnis ‘common’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to change’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-‘to change’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱom-moy-ni-sreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kommoinis‘common’reconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEco(m)moinis
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnis‘common’
- Englishearliest quotation 1603communicate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-‘to change’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱom-moy-ni-sreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kommoinis‘common’reconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEco(m)moinis
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnis‘common’
- Englishearliest quotation 1603communicate
Earliest quotation: 1603, Ben[jamin] Jonson: “thousands that communicate our loss”.
The story
Adapted borrowing of Latin commūnicāt- (past participial stem of commūnicō (‘share, impart; make common’)) + -ate (verb-forming suffix), from commūnis (‘common’) + -icō.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to change’
mean, met, minute, minister, minor, mess, commission, ministry, meal, min, menu, missile, mere, mutual, minus, compromise, commit, dismiss, premise, mole, immune, mayhem, noodle, ammunition, moor, immunity, mural, ammo, intermittent, municipality, remuneration, mite, omit, monolith, minstrel, mitra, mitre, mitosis, meiosis, missive, 74 more
through Old Latin co(m)moinis
through Latin commūnis ‘common’
common, telecommunication, excommunication, communistic, 21 more
Today it means
verb To impart or transmit (information or knowledge) to someone; to make known, to tell.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mey- / communicate