English
implicit
Implicit comes from Latin implico ‘to infold, involve, entangle’, from plicō ‘to fold’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to plait, to weave’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-‘to plait, to weave’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō‘to fold’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimplico‘to infold, involve, entangle’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimplicituspast participle of implico
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600implicite
- Englishearliest quotation 1725implicit
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-‘to plait, to weave’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō‘to fold’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimplico‘to infold, involve, entangle’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimplicituspast participle of implico
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600implicite
- Englishearliest quotation 1725implicit
Earliest quotation: 1725, Homer, Book IX: “In his deep fleece […] I cling implicit.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to plait, to weave’
complex, fiasco, flax, replication, flack, plexus, flagon, 34 more
through Latin plicō ‘to fold’
apply, display, reply, exploitation, deploy, exploit, imply, replica, explicit, ploy, ply, complication, inexplicable, supple, complicate, accomplice, pliable, complicity, supplication, triplicate, splay, pliant, explication, 22 more
through Latin implico ‘to infold, involve, entangle’
Today it means
adj Suggested indirectly, without being directly expressed; Implied.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- / implicit