English
distort
Distort comes from Latin distorqueō ‘to twist, torture, distort’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- ‘to turn, spin’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terkʷ-‘to turn, spin’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*torkʷ-éye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*torkʷejōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*torkʷeōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorqueō‘twist’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistorqueō‘to twist, torture, distort’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistortumpast participle of distorqueō
- Englishearliest quotation 1596distort
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terkʷ-‘to turn, spin’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*torkʷ-éye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*torkʷejōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*torkʷeōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorqueō‘twist’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistorqueō‘to twist, torture, distort’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistortumpast participle of distorqueō
- Englishearliest quotation 1596distort
Earliest quotation: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book V, Canto XII: “Her face was ugly and her mouth distort.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- ‘to turn, spin’
queer, tart, thwart, trowel, tortious, 19 more
through Latin torqueō ‘twist’
torture, torch, torque, torment, extortion, torsion, retort, extort, tortuous, torturous, contortion, 16 more
Today it means
verb To bring something out of shape, to misshape.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- / distort