English
confuse
Confuse comes from Latin cōnfūsus ‘mixed, mingled, having been poured together’, from fundo ‘to pour’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-‘to pour’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédtireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundō‘to pour out’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundo‘to pour’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfundere‘to pour together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfūsus‘mixed, mingled, having been poured together’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400confus
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500confused‘frustrated, ruined’
- Englishearliest quotation 2018confuse
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-‘to pour’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédtireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundō‘to pour out’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundo‘to pour’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfundere‘to pour together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfūsus‘mixed, mingled, having been poured together’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400confus
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500confused‘frustrated, ruined’
- Englishearliest quotation 2018confuse
Earliest quotation: 2018, Engen Tham, Data dump: China sees surge in personal information up for s: “What confuses me is how other insurance companies knew…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’
yet, gut, refuse, font, effusive, 42 more
through Proto-Italic *hundō ‘to pour out’
foundry, diffusion, infusion, fondue, perfusion, profusion, effusion, 37 more
through Latin fundo ‘to pour’
foundation, founder, fundamental, refund, fusion, funnel, diffuse, confound, infuse, 47 more
Today it means
verb To puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- / confuse