English
indemnity
Indemnity comes from Middle French indemnité ‘insurance payment’, from Late Latin indemnitās ‘security from damage’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- ‘to sacrifice, to lose’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂p-‘to sacrifice, to lose’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dh₂pnóm‘expense, investment’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dapnomreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdamnum‘damage’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEin- -is
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEindemnis‘undamaged’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEindemnitās‘security from damage’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600indemnité‘insurance payment’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500indempnite
- Englishearliest quotation 1834indemnity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂p-‘to sacrifice, to lose’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dh₂pnóm‘expense, investment’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dapnomreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdamnum‘damage’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEin- -is
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEindemnis‘undamaged’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEindemnitās‘security from damage’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600indemnité‘insurance payment’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500indempnite
- Englishearliest quotation 1834indemnity
Earliest quotation: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “And all this, it will be said, the Duke…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- ‘to sacrifice, to lose’
through Proto-Italic *dapnom
condemnation, damnation, damning, 5 more
through Latin damnum ‘damage’
through Latin in- -is
Today it means
noun Security from damage, loss, or penalty.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- / indemnity