Etymograph

English

contaminate

Contaminate comes from Latin contāminātus ‘touched, contacted’, from *tāmen ‘all the same, just the same’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- ‘to touch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teh₂g-‘to touch’root as named
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*só‘this’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sei‘thus, so’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtam‘so, so much, to such an extent, to such a degree’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*tāmen‘all the same, just the same’reconstructed
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontāminō‘to touch together, blend, mingle, corrupt, defile’
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontāminātus‘touched, contacted’perfect passive participle of contāminō
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500contaminat‘sullied, defiled’
  9. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500contaminaten‘to defile’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1599contaminate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teh₂g-‘to touch’root as named
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*só‘this’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sei‘thus, so’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtam‘so, so much, to such an extent, to such a degree’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*tāmen‘all the same, just the same’reconstructed
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontāminō‘to touch together, blend, mingle, corrupt, defile’
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontāminātus‘touched, contacted’perfect passive participle of contāminō
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500contaminat‘sullied, defiled’
  9. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500contaminaten‘to defile’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1599contaminate

Earliest quotation: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Shall we now Contaminate our figures with base bribes?”

first attested First attested in the early 15ᵗʰ century (as stated in the etymology)

The story

First attested in the early 15ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; from Middle English contaminaten (‘to defile; to infect with desease’), from contaminat(e) (“sullied, defiled; infected with desease”, also used as the past participle of contaminaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), from Latin contāminātus, the perfect passive participle of contāminō (‘to touch together, blend, mingle, corrupt, defile’) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), which see for further informations.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- ‘to touch’

taste, integrity, tangible, taxis, tame, contingent, integrate, attain, tactile, tact, tangent, taxonomy, contiguous, talon, contagion, tama, ataxia, talus, thwack, 31 more

through Proto-Indo-European *só ‘this’

then, these, soon, thereabouts, 8 more

through Proto-Italic *sei ‘thus, so’

sic, 3 more

through Latin tam ‘so, so much, to such an extent, to such a degree’

tandem, tanto, 3 more

Today it means

verb To make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- / contaminate

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