Etymograph

English

complicate

Complicate comes from Latin complicātus ‘folded up, complicated, complex’, from complicō ‘to fold together, fold up’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-1‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō1‘fold or lay together’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomplicō2‘to fold together, fold up’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomplicātus2‘folded up, complicated, complex’perfect passive participle of complicō
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1742complicate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin complico
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English complicate
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1742, Edward Young, Night the First: “How poor ? how rich ? how abject ?…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-Wiktionary, Latin complico‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicōWiktionary, Latin complico‘fold or lay together’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomplicōWiktionary, English complicate‘to fold together, fold up’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomplicātusWiktionary, English complicate‘folded up, complicated, complex’perfect passive participle of complicō
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1742complicateWiktionary, English complicate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1742, Edward Young, Night the First: “How poor ? how rich ? how abject ?…”

first attested First attested in the early 17th century (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in the early 17th century; borrowed from Latin complicātus, perfect passive participle of complicō (‘to fold together, fold up’) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from con- (‘with, together with, in the company of, in connection with, along with, together, and’) + plicō (‘to fold, wind, coil’); see plaid, and compare complex.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’

exploitation, fiasco, flax, flack, replication, plexus, flagon, 36 more

through Latin plicō ‘fold or lay together’

apply, display, reply, employment, exploit, employ, deploy, explicit, imply, replica, ploy, ply, implicit, supple, inexplicable, pliable, splay, supplication, implicate, pliant, triplicate, explication, 24 more

through Latin complicō ‘to fold together, fold up’

accomplice, 2 more

Today it means

verb To make complex; to modify so as to make something intricate or difficult.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- / complicate

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