English
exiguous
Exiguous comes from Latin exiguus ‘strict, exact’, from exigō ‘to measure against a standard’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-‘to drive’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘to drive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexigōas exigere‘to measure against a standard’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexiguus‘strict, exact’
- Englishearliest quotation 1889exiguous
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-‘to drive’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘to drive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexigōas exigere‘to measure against a standard’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexiguus‘strict, exact’
- Englishearliest quotation 1889exiguous
Earliest quotation: 1889, Robert Louis Stevenson: “The herdboy in the broom, already musical in the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’
suggest, register, essay, acre, gesture, congestion, digest, agrarian, progesterone, gestation, ingestion, belligerent, ingest, agitate, axiomatic, agger, samaj, gerund, gestion, 127 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
strategy, agony, antagonist, reactionary, antagonism, agonist, axiom, antagonize, stratagem, glucagon, agonize, 101 more
through Proto-Italic *agō ‘to drive’
reaction, actively, transaction, radioactive, inactive, retroactive, reagent, hyperactivity, unambiguous, ambiguously, 79 more
through Latin agō ‘to drive’
act, action, active, agency, activity, actual, agent, actor, agenda, examination, examine, activate, squat, enact, agile, agility, agitation, ambiguity, radium, actuator, ambiguous, cogent, actuation, actuate, inexact, redact, 96 more
through Latin exigō ‘to measure against a standard’
Today it means
adj Scanty; meager.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / exiguous