English
extenuate
Extenuate comes from Middle English extenuat ‘(medicine) made thin, emaciated’, from Latin extenuātus ‘diminished, reduced, thinned’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tenh₂- ‘to stretch, extend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tenh₂-‘to stretch, extend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ténh₂us‘thin’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tən(a)usareconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtenuis‘thin, weak, fine’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtenuō‘to enfeeble, weaken, wear down’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEextenuō‘to diminish, reduce, thin’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEextenuātus‘diminished, reduced, thinned’perfect passive participle of extenuō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500extenuat‘(medicine) made thin, emaciated’
- Englishearliest quotation 1608extenuate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tenh₂-‘to stretch, extend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ténh₂us‘thin’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tən(a)usareconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtenuis‘thin, weak, fine’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtenuō‘to enfeeble, weaken, wear down’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEextenuō‘to diminish, reduce, thin’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEextenuātus‘diminished, reduced, thinned’perfect passive participle of extenuō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500extenuat‘(medicine) made thin, emaciated’
- Englishearliest quotation 1608extenuate
Earliest quotation: 1608, Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas, Du Bartas His Deuine Weekes and Workes […]: “And, that ſame Maieſty, vvhich (as the Baſe /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us ‘thin’
Today it means
adj Of a person: emaciated, wasted, weakened; of the body or part of it: atrophied, shrunken, withered.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tenh₂- / extenuate