English
extispex
Extispex comes from Latin extispex ‘a diviner who reads prophesies from the…’, from exsecō ‘to cut out’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-‘to cut, cut off, sever’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékh₁yetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekaō‘to cut’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecō‘to cut’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsecō‘to cut out’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexta‘entrails’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEextispex‘a diviner who reads prophesies from the entrails of animals’
- Englishearliest quotation 1836same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-‘to cut, cut off, sever’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékh₁yetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekaō‘to cut’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecō‘to cut’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsecō‘to cut out’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexta‘entrails’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEextispex‘a diviner who reads prophesies from the entrails of animals’
- Englishearliest quotation 1836same form
Earliest quotation: 1836, Thomas Swinburne Carr, A manual of Roman antiquities: “The Aruspices, or rather Haruspices, were those priests whose…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut, cut off, sever’
saw, design, sign, ship, seal, sack, scarlet, sawyer, sax, shingle, scythe, sich, sedge, sigil, sain, desiccation, desiccant, 58 more
through Proto-Italic *sekaō ‘to cut’
sexuality, homosexual, dissection, 17 more
through Latin secō ‘to cut’
sex, section, risk, sexual, segment, insect, sickle, het, dissect, seg, brassica, 20 more
Today it means
noun Somebody who predicts the future using entrails
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sek- / extispex