English
erudite
Erudite comes from Latin ērudītus ‘instructed, educated, cultivated, enlightened,…’, from rudis ‘rude, unskilled’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hrew- ‘to tear up, dig up’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrew-‘to tear up, dig up’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErudis‘rude, unskilled’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEērudiō‘educate, train’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEērudītus‘instructed, educated, cultivated, enlightened, learned’participle of ērudiō
- Englishearliest quotation 1850erudite
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrew-‘to tear up, dig up’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErudis‘rude, unskilled’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEērudiō‘educate, train’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEērudītus‘instructed, educated, cultivated, enlightened, learned’participle of ērudiō
- Englishearliest quotation 1850erudite
Earliest quotation: 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne: “At all events, if it involved any secret information…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *Hrew- ‘to tear up, dig up’
through Latin rudis ‘rude, unskilled’
Today it means
adj Learned, scholarly, with emphasis on knowledge gained from books.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *Hrew- / erudite