English
erode
Erode comes from French éroder ‘to erode’, from Latin ērōdō ‘to gnaw away’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreh₃d-‘to scrape, scratch, gnaw’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErōdō‘to gnaw, nibble, bite’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEērōdō‘to gnaw away’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentéroder‘to erode’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025erode
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreh₃d-‘to scrape, scratch, gnaw’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErōdō‘to gnaw, nibble, bite’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEērōdō‘to gnaw away’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentéroder‘to erode’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025erode
Earliest quotation: 2025, Rachel Konrad and Matt Abrahams, Why Young People Are Struggling to Communicate: “We've been worried about adolescents' diminishing writing and speaking…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- ‘to scrape, scratch, gnaw’
through Latin rōdō ‘to gnaw, nibble, bite’
corrosion, rodent, rostrum, rostral, corrode, 5 more
through Latin ērōdō ‘to gnaw away’
Today it means
verb To wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- / erode