English
contributor
Contributor comes from Latin contribuō ‘to allot, assign’, from tribus ‘one of the three original tribes of Rome:…’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *triðus ‘trinity, tripartite entity’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*triðus‘trinity, tripartite entity’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtribus‘one of the three original tribes of Rome: Ramnes, Tities, Luceres’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtribuō‘to grant, bestow, assign, attribute’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontribuō‘to allot, assign’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400contributour
- Englishearliest quotation 1978contributor
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*triðus‘trinity, tripartite entity’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtribus‘one of the three original tribes of Rome: Ramnes, Tities, Luceres’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtribuō‘to grant, bestow, assign, attribute’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontribuō‘to allot, assign’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400contributour
- Englishearliest quotation 1978contributor
Earliest quotation: 1978, George Mendenhall, Harvey Milk, Mayor Moscone Slain in Shooting: “The nation lost two major contributors to the cause…”
Formed from contribute + -or
Proto-Indo-European *tréyes ‘three’
…
Latin tribus ‘tribe’
Latin tribuō ‘to bestow’
Latin contribuō ‘to bring together; to unite’
Latin contribūtus ‘contributed’
English contribute
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’
be, been, power, possible, future, present, physical, build, improve, presence, essential, bound, bond, absence, bush, physician, booth, approve, probability, entity, absent, favorable, fiat, favourable, bouquet, bun, imp, bower, rebuke, impossibility, impotent, aren, beamer, bosque, phylogeny, physic, phylum, approbation, bist, busk, 82 more
through Latin tribus ‘one of the three original tribes of Rome:…’
distribution, tribe, tribal, tribute, tribunal, tribune, 5 more
through Latin tribuō ‘to grant, bestow, assign, attribute’
Today it means
noun A benefactor; someone who donates to charity or some cause.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *triðus / contributor