English
inquiline
Inquiline comes from Latin inquilīnus ‘tenant, lodger’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *enkʷelō.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*enkʷelōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*enkʷilīnosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinquilīnus‘tenant, lodger’
- Englishearliest quotation 1998inquiline
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*enkʷelōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*enkʷilīnosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinquilīnus‘tenant, lodger’
- Englishearliest quotation 1998inquiline
Earliest quotation: 1998, Stephen B. Heard, Capture rates of invertebrate prey by the pitcher plant, Sar: “Captured prey also constitute the resource base for a…”
Every English word from Proto-Italic *enkʷelō
Today it means
noun An animal that lives commensally in the nest, burrow, gall, or dwelling place of an animal of another species.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *enkʷelō / inquiline