English
emergent
Emergent comes from Latin ēmergēns ‘emerging’, from mergō ‘to dip, to immerse, to plunge’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mesg-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mesg-‘to dip, sink’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mésgeti‘to sink’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mezgōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmergō‘to dip, to immerse, to plunge’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmergō‘to emerge’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmergēns‘emerging’
- Englishearliest quotation 1763emergent
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mesg-‘to dip, sink’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mésgeti‘to sink’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mezgōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmergō‘to dip, to immerse, to plunge’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmergō‘to emerge’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmergēns‘emerging’
- Englishearliest quotation 1763emergent
Earliest quotation: 1763, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu: “The chief precepts of their priests enjoin the strict…”
The story
The medical sense is a back-formation from emergency.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mesg- ‘to dip, sink’
through Latin mergō ‘to dip, to immerse, to plunge’
Today it means
adj Emerging; coming into view or into existence; nascent; new.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mesg- / emergent