English
corruption
Corruption comes from French corruption, from Latin corruptiō, from corrumpō ‘to corrupt’, from rumpō ‘to break’, ultimately from PIE *Hrewp- ‘to break’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrewp-‘to break’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrunéptireconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErumpō‘to break, burst’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcorrumpō‘to corrupt, deprave’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcorruptiō
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcorruption
- Englishearliest quotation 1627same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrewp-‘to break’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrunéptireconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErumpō‘to break, burst’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcorrumpō‘to corrupt, deprave’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcorruptiō
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcorruption
- Englishearliest quotation 1627same form
Earliest quotation: 1627, (please specify the page, or |century=I to X): “The inducing and accelerating of putrefaction is a subject…”
Formed from corrupt + -ion
Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- ‘break’
…
Latin rumpō ‘to break in pieces’
Latin corrumpō ‘to destroy, ruin, injure, spoil, corrupt, bribe’
Latin corruptus ‘perverted, corrupted’
Middle English corrupten
English corrupt
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- ‘to break, tear (up)’
route, rob, robbery, rover, robe, reaver, 23 more
through Latin rumpō ‘to break, burst, tear, rend, rupture’
Today it means
noun The act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or debased; loss of purity or integrity.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- / corruption