Etymograph

English

ingrate

Ingrate comes from Latin ingrātus ‘disagreeable’, from grātus ‘pleasing’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerH- ‘to welcome, greet, praise’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷerH-‘to welcome, greet, praise’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷr̥H-tó-sreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷrātos‘grateful, thankful’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrātus‘pleasing’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEingrātus‘disagreeable’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ingrat
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1536ingrate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷerH-‘to welcome, greet, praise’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷr̥H-tó-sreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷrātos‘grateful, thankful’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrātus‘pleasing’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEingrātus‘disagreeable’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ingrat
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1536ingrate

Earliest quotation: 1536, Hugh Latimer: “Many of theſe might ſeem ingrate and unkind children,…”

first attested First attested in 1393 (as stated in the etymology)

The story

First attested in 1393, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English ingrat, from Latin ingrātus (‘disagreeable’), from in- (‘not’) + grātus (‘pleasing’).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷerH- ‘to welcome, greet, praise’

agree, 10 more

through Latin grātus ‘pleasing’

agreement, grace, gratitude, gracious, congratulate, gratuitous, gracias, gratis, congratulation, gree, 8 more

Today it means

adj Ungrateful.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷerH- / ingrate

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