English
detritus
Detritus comes from Latin dētrītus ‘rubbed away’, from terō ‘to rub’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, turn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterō‘to rub’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēterō‘rub away’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdētrītus‘rubbed away’
- Englishearliest quotation 2001detritus
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, turn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterō‘to rub’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēterō‘rub away’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdētrītus‘rubbed away’
- Englishearliest quotation 2001detritus
Earliest quotation: 2001, Chip Kidd: “But of course: no clutter. No newspapers, no renegade…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’
turn, throw, tournament, thread, threshold, tragic, trout, tyrone, thrash, tourney, detour, termite, triage, tourniquet, thresher, tyro, truant, thresh, contrite, derma, 42 more
through Latin terō ‘to rub’
Today it means
noun Pieces of rock broken off by ice, glacier, or erosion.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- / detritus