English
confabulation
Confabulation comes from Latin cōnfābulor ‘to converse’, from Proto-Italic *fāōr ‘to speak’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂ti‘to speak, to be talking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāōr‘to speak’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfor
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābula‘narrative, conversation’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābulor‘to chat, converse, talk’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfābuloras cōnfābulārī‘to converse’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconfābulātiōnem
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500confabulacion‘conversation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1855confabulation
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂ti‘to speak, to be talking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāōr‘to speak’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfor
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābula‘narrative, conversation’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābulor‘to chat, converse, talk’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfābuloras cōnfābulārī‘to converse’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconfābulātiōnem
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500confabulacion‘conversation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1855confabulation
Earliest quotation: 1855, Anthony Trollope, The Warden: “[…] Mrs Grantly was preparing herself for a grand…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
phone, focus, professor, fuel, ben, famous, phase, ban, favourite, favor, fantasy, photographer, emphasis, fancy, fame, bee, fate, phenomenon, fairy, profession, fatal, phantom, abandon, beck, infant, symphony, beacon, confess, boon, bane, epiphany, fay, foyer, banish, profess, bene, banal, buoy, fantasia, nefarious, 121 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéh₂ti ‘to speak, to be talking’
through Latin for
eff, affable, ineffable, 11 more
through Latin fābula ‘narrative, conversation’
Today it means
noun A casual conversation; a chat.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / confabulation