Etymograph

English

edifice

Edifice comes from Old French edifice, from Latin aedificium ‘building’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- ‘to ignite’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eydʰ-‘to ignite’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éydʰ-sreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aiðesreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedisas aedēs‘building’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedificōas aedificāre‘to build, establish’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedificium‘building’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400edifice
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500edifice
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1904edifice

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eydʰ-‘to ignite’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éydʰ-sreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aiðesreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedisas aedēs‘building’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedificōas aedificāre‘to build, establish’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedificium‘building’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400edifice
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500edifice
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1904edifice

Earliest quotation: 1904, Edward S. Holden, Copernicus: “The real difficulty was moral, not intellectual. Was the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- ‘to ignite’

ethanol, ether, estuary, atrium, 20 more

Today it means

noun A building; a structure; an architectural fabric, especially a large and spectacular one.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- / edifice

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