Etymograph

English

incarcerate

Incarcerate comes from Medieval Latin incarcerātus ‘incarcerated’, from incarcerō ‘to imprison’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut off, sever’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarcer‘prison’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500incarcerō‘to imprison’
  4. Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500incarcerātus‘incarcerated’perfect passive participle of incarcerō
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1583incarcerate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut off, sever’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarcer‘prison’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500incarcerō‘to imprison’
  4. Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500incarcerātus‘incarcerated’perfect passive participle of incarcerō
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1583incarcerate

Earliest quotation: 1583, Preface to The Legend of the Bishop St A: “Tane and incarcerat, kepit heir an there”.

first attested The adjective is first attested in 1528, the verb in 1575; borrowed from Medieval Latin incarcerātus, perfect passive participle of incarcerō (“to imprison”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Latin in- (“in”) + carcer (“a prison”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix) (as stated in the etymology)

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’

short, across, share, cross, screen, score, card, shirt, circle, circuit, cancer, crucial, curve, skirt, circus, curb, scare, circulation, crest, scrutiny, carnival, shrine, corona, scar, scorpion, shred, cancellation, shear, circa, corolla, scorn, shrewd, crux, raffle, carnage, cirque, crepe, corgi, shard, circulate, 119 more

Today it means

verb To lock away; to imprison, especially for breaking the law.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / incarcerate

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