English
ductile
Ductile comes from Latin ductilis ‘easily led’, from dūcō ‘lead, guide, conduct’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to draw, pull’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*déwkti‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*doukō‘to lead’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūcō‘lead, guide, conduct’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEductilis‘easily led’
- Englishearliest quotation 1871ductile
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*déwkti‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*doukō‘to lead’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūcō‘lead, guide, conduct’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEductilis‘easily led’
- Englishearliest quotation 1871ductile
Earliest quotation: 1871, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The Coming Race: “their organisation was, by hereditary culture, much more ductile…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to draw, pull’
team, touch, toy, tie, introduce, tow, tying, tug, duchess, tighten, tuck, herzog, tether, taut, tew, untie, teem, induct, 94 more
through Proto-Indo-European *déwkti ‘to pull, to draw’
unproductive, productively, preproduction, 93 more
through Proto-Italic *doukō ‘to lead’
producer, productivity, productive, reproduce, conductor, reproduction, byproduct, conduction, abductor, dukedom, overproduction, 96 more
through Latin dūcō ‘lead, guide, conduct’
education, production, produce, product, reduce, duke, introduction, conduct, reduction, dolphin, educate, conn, educator, douche, induce, induction, doge, conducive, subdue, seduce, deduction, cond, seduction, duchy, transducer, redux, deduct, redoubt, inductive, duc, subduction, transduction, abduct, reductive, dux, duce, ducal, inductor, adductor, adduct, 107 more
Today it means
adj Capable of being pulled or stretched into thin wire by mechanical force without breaking.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dewk- / ductile