English
digest
Digest comes from Latin dīgestus ‘separated, divided, distributed’, from dīgerō ‘carry apart’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gezō‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgerō‘to carry’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīgerō‘carry apart’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīgestus‘separated, divided, distributed’past participle of dīgerō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500digesten
- Englishearliest quotation 1549digest
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gezō‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgerō‘to carry’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīgerō‘carry apart’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīgestus‘separated, divided, distributed’past participle of dīgerō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500digesten
- Englishearliest quotation 1549digest
Earliest quotation: 1549, Thomas Cranmer et al., London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […]: “Grant that we may in such wise hear them…”
The story
From Middle English digesten, from Latin dīgestus, past participle of dīgerō (‘carry apart’), from dī- (for dis- (‘apart’)) + gerō (‘to carry’), influenced by Middle French digestion. Partly displaced native Old English meltan (intransitive) and mieltan (transitive), both “to melt, to digest,” whence Modern English melt.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
act, action, active, activity, actual, actor, agency, agent, strategy, suggest, agenda, essay, acre, activate, agony, squat, agile, ambiguous, agility, assay, agrarian, agitation, ambiguity, antagonist, axiom, antagonism, actuator, agitate, agonist, antagonize, radium, cogent, actuation, glucagon, samaj, inexact, agonize, actuate, stratagem, exigent, 140 more
through Latin gerō ‘to carry’
register, suggestion, gesture, congestion, belligerent, progesterone, gestation, ingestion, ingest, agger, gerund, gestion, 14 more
Another origin of digest
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gezō‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgerere
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīgerō‘separate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīgestapast participle of dīgerō
- Englishtodaydigest
Today it means
verb To distribute or arrange methodically; to work over and classify; to reduce to portions for ready use or application.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / digest