English
conclusion
Conclusion comes, via Middle English, from Old French conclusion, from Latin conclūsiō, from conclūdō ‘to conclude’ (con- + claudō).
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kleh₂w-‘key, hook, nail’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō‘to close’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconclūdō‘to conclude’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconclūsiō‘conclusion’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400conclusion
- Englishearliest quotation 1598–1599same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kleh₂w-‘key, hook, nail’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō‘to close’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconclūdō‘to conclude’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconclūsiō‘conclusion’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400conclusion
- Englishearliest quotation 1598–1599same form
Earliest quotation: 1598–1599, William Shakespeare: “[I]n her boſome Ile vnclaſpe my heart, / And…”
Equivalent to conclude + -sion
Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- ‘to close something’
Proto-Italic *klaudō ‘to close’
Latin claudō ‘to shut up, close, lock’
Latin conclūdō ‘to shut up, close, end’
Middle English concluden
English conclude
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- ‘key, hook, nail’
enclosure, enclave, clavicle, clef, clave, 9 more
through Latin claudō ‘to shut up, close, lock’
close, exclusive, closure, clause, exclude, inclusive, inclusion, preclude, cloister, sluice, recluse, claustrophobia, cloture, occlusion, 32 more
Today it means
noun The end, finish, close or last part of something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)kleh₂w- / conclusion