English
detect
Detect comes from Latin detectus ‘uncovered, revealed, disclosed’, from tegō ‘to cover’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teg-‘to cover with a roof’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tegō‘to cover’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtegōas tegere‘to cover’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdetegere‘to uncover or disclose’next step skipped: Latin dētegō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdetectus‘uncovered, revealed, disclosed’perfect passive participle of detegere
- Englishearliest quotation 1885detect
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teg-‘to cover with a roof’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tegō‘to cover’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtegōas tegere‘to cover’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdetegere‘to uncover or disclose’next step skipped: Latin dētegō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdetectus‘uncovered, revealed, disclosed’perfect passive participle of detegere
- Englishearliest quotation 1885detect
Earliest quotation: 1885, Alexander Wynter Blyth, Poisons: “Cantharidin, although readily decomposed by chemical agents, is so…”
The story
Sense "to work or solve cases as a detective" a back-formation from detective.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- ‘to cover with a roof’
tile, thug, sauna, thatch, staccato, toque, 29 more
through Latin tegō ‘to cover’
Today it means
verb To discover or notice, especially by careful search, examination, or probing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- / detect