English
convulsion
Convulsion comes from Latin convellō ‘to shatter, batter, convulse’, from vellō ‘to pull or tear down’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- ‘to hit, to strike’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₃-‘to hit, to strike’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wl̥néh₃tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*welnō‘to pull, tear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvellō‘to pull or tear down’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvellō‘to shatter, batter, convulse’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvulsiō
- Englishearliest quotation 1834convulsion
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₃-‘to hit, to strike’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wl̥néh₃tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*welnō‘to pull, tear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvellō‘to pull or tear down’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvellō‘to shatter, batter, convulse’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvulsiō
- Englishearliest quotation 1834convulsion
Earliest quotation: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara. […]: “It would seem as if calm were necessary to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- ‘to hit, to strike’
vulnerable, invulnerability, 22 more
through Latin vellō ‘to pull or tear down’
Today it means
noun An intense, paroxysmal, involuntary muscular contraction.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- / convulsion