English
explication
Explication comes from Latin explicatio ‘an explanation, explication, exposition’, from plicō ‘to fold’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō‘to fold’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicō‘to explain’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicatioas explicātiō‘an explanation, explication, exposition’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600explication
- Englishearliest quotation 1991explication
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō‘to fold’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicō‘to explain’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicatioas explicātiō‘an explanation, explication, exposition’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600explication
- Englishearliest quotation 1991explication
Earliest quotation: 1991, Caroline Foty, It's The End Of The Year As We Know It: “Her anthemic "Who Stands For Life" is a powerful…”
Equivalent to explicate + -ion
Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’
Latin plicō ‘to fold’
Latin explicō ‘unfold, explain’
English explicate
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’
complex, fiasco, flax, flack, plexus, replication, flagon, 34 more
through Latin plicō ‘to fold’
apply, display, employment, reply, employ, imply, deploy, replica, exploitation, ploy, implicit, ply, accomplice, supple, complicity, complicate, complication, pliable, implicate, splay, pliant, triplicate, supplication, 22 more
through Latin explicō ‘to explain’
Today it means
noun The act of opening or unfolding.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- / explication