English
congratulate
Congratulate comes from Latin congrātulātus ‘congratulating, having congratulated’, from congrātulor ‘to wish joy, rejoice (with)’, and ultimately from grātulor.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrātulor‘to congratulate (to express one's sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt…’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcongrātulor‘to wish joy, rejoice (with)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcongrātulātus‘congratulating, having congratulated’perfect active participle of congrātulor
- Englishearliest quotation 2025congratulate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrātulor‘to congratulate (to express one's sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt…’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcongrātulor‘to wish joy, rejoice (with)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcongrātulātus‘congratulating, having congratulated’perfect active participle of congrātulor
- Englishearliest quotation 2025congratulate
Earliest quotation: 2025, Ben Morse: “Ronaldo Sr., who is the record goalscorer in men’s…”
first attested First attested in 1548 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in 1548; borrowed from Latin congrātulātus, the perfect active participle of Latin congrātulor (‘to wish joy, rejoice (with); to congratulate’) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from con- + grātulor, from grātus (‘grateful, pleasing, agreeable, beloved’) + -or.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷerH- ‘to welcome, greet, praise’
through Latin grātus ‘beloved, dear, acceptable, pleasing, agreeable’
agreement, grace, gratitude, gracious, gracias, grate, gratis, gratuitous, gree, 9 more
Today it means
verb To express one’s sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt for
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin grātulor / congratulate