English
detrimental
Detrimental comes from Latin dētrīmentum ‘harm’, from dēterō ‘to rub off, wear’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterō‘to rub or grab’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēterō‘to rub off, wear’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdētrīmentum‘harm’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500*dētrīmentālisreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1838detrimental
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterō‘to rub or grab’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēterō‘to rub off, wear’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdētrīmentum‘harm’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500*dētrīmentālisreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1838detrimental
Earliest quotation: 1838, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, (please specify the page): “The fact is," continued he, "Lady Anne fears that…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn’
turn, throw, thread, tournament, threshold, tragic, trout, tyrone, thrash, tourney, detour, termite, triage, tourniquet, thresher, tyro, thresh, truant, contrite, derma, 42 more
through Latin terō ‘to rub or grab’
Today it means
adj Causing damage or harm.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- / detrimental