English
erudition
Erudition comes from Latin eruditio ‘an instructing, learning, erudition’, from rudis ‘rude’, 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’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEerudire‘to instruct, educate, cultivate’literally ‘free from rudeness’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEeruditio‘an instructing, learning, erudition’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600érudition
- Englishearliest quotation 1913erudition
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’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEerudire‘to instruct, educate, cultivate’literally ‘free from rudeness’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEeruditio‘an instructing, learning, erudition’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600érudition
- Englishearliest quotation 1913erudition
Earliest quotation: 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan: “Professor Archimedes Q. Porter was their only immediate anxiety.…”
Equivalent to erudite + -ion
Proto-Indo-European *Hrew- ‘to tear up, dig up’
Latin rudis ‘rude, unskilled’
Latin ērudiō ‘educate, train’
Latin ērudītus ‘instructed, educated, cultivated,…’
English erudite
first attested First attested in the 15th Century (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in the 15th Century.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *Hrew- ‘to tear up, dig up’
through Latin rudis ‘rude’
Today it means
noun Profound knowledge acquired from learning and scholarship.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *Hrew- / erudition