Etymograph

English

decrepit

Decrepit comes from Latin dēcrepitus ‘very old’, and goes back to crepō ‘to creak’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrepō‘to creak’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrepitus
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcrepitus‘very old’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600décrépit
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500decrepyt
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1834decrepit

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrepō‘to creak’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrepitus
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcrepitus‘very old’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600décrépit
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500decrepyt
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1834decrepit

Earliest quotation: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara. […]: “Sorrow is subdued by strong necessity; there is no…”

Linked words

through Latin crepō ‘to creak’

craven, discrepancy, crevice, crevasse, 6 more

Today it means

adj Weakened or worn out from age or wear.

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

Etymograph / Latin crepō / decrepit

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