English
indign
Indign comes from Latin indignus ‘unworthy of, undeserving of’, from dignus ‘worthy, dignified’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to take’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-‘to take’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-noreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dek-no-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdignus‘worthy, dignified’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEindignus‘unworthy of, undeserving of’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600indigne
- Englishearliest quotation 1596indign
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-‘to take’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-noreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dek-no-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdignus‘worthy, dignified’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEindignus‘unworthy of, undeserving of’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600indigne
- Englishearliest quotation 1596indign
Earliest quotation: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book IV, Canto I: “even th'Almightie selfe she did maligne, / Because to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to take’
doctor, document, decent, tail, decoration, doctrine, decor, paradox, dogma, docile, dodo, doctrinal, fonda, décor, dox, docent, 55 more
through Latin dignus ‘worthy, dignified’
Today it means
adj Unworthy, undeserving.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- / indign