English
elect
Elect comes from Latin ēlēctus ‘chosen, elected’, from legō ‘to pick out, pick, gather, collect, etc’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-‘to gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō‘to pick out, pick, gather, collect, etc’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēligō‘to pick out, choose, elect’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēlēctus‘chosen, elected’past participle of ēligō
- Englishearliest quotation 1590elect
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-‘to gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō‘to pick out, pick, gather, collect, etc’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēligō‘to pick out, choose, elect’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēlēctus‘chosen, elected’past participle of ēligō
- Englishearliest quotation 1590elect
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto VII: “colours quaint elect”.
The story
Borrowed from Latin ēlēctus, past participle of ēligō (‘to pick out, choose, elect’), from ē- (‘out’) + legō (‘to pick out, pick, gather, collect, etc.’); see legend.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather’
technology, logic, apology, catalogue, trilogy, sociology, analogy, terminology, collect, physiology, pathology, logos, astrology, monologue, prologue, pathologist, epilogue, archaeologist, logistic, eulogy, cosmology, leach, etymology, epistemology, lexicon, entomology, homologous, lexical, gynecologist, etiology, lignite, lignin, apologia, alexia, bacteriology, lexis, dialectical, syllogism, dialectic, bacteriologist, 154 more
through Proto-Italic *legō
intelligence, intelligent, intellectual, legionnaire, legionella, legionary, 20 more
through Latin legō ‘to pick out, pick, gather, collect, etc’
college, collection, lesson, legend, legacy, selection, colleague, collective, coil, negligence, legion, delegation, elegant, lecture, negligent, collector, delegate, diligent, collegiate, negligible, cull, ineligible, legible, legation, legate, collegium, lectern, lector, 25 more
through Latin ēligō ‘to pick out, choose, elect’
Today it means
noun One chosen or set apart.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / elect