English
confusion
Confusion comes from Old French confusion ‘spread’, from Latin confusio ‘mingling, mixing, blending’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’.
- 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 CEfundō‘pour’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfundō‘to pour, mingle, stir up’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconfusioas confusio‘mingling, mixing, blending’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400confusion‘spread’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500confusioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1749confusion
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 CEfundō‘pour’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfundō‘to pour, mingle, stir up’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconfusioas confusio‘mingling, mixing, blending’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400confusion‘spread’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500confusioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1749confusion
Earliest quotation: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones: “Lady Bellaston fixed her eyes on Sophia whilst she…”
Formed from confuse + -ion
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’
…
Latin cōnfundere ‘to pour together’
Latin cōnfūsus ‘mixed, mingled, having been poured together’
Anglo-Norman confus
Middle English confused ‘frustrated, ruined’
English confuse
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’
yet, gut, refuse, font, fuse, effusive, 42 more
through Proto-Italic *hundō ‘to pour out’
through Latin fundō ‘pour’
foundation, founder, fundamental, refund, funnel, diffuse, diffusion, infusion, infuse, perfusion, profusion, effusion, 43 more
through Latin cōnfundō ‘to pour, mingle, stir up’
Today it means
noun A lack of clarity or order.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- / confusion