Etymograph

English

instigate

Instigate comes from Latin īnstīgātus ‘stimulated, set on, incited, roused or urged’, from īnstīgō ‘to instigate’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- ‘to be sharp’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teyg-‘to be sharp’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstīgō‘to instigate’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstīgātus‘stimulated, set on, incited, roused or urged’perfect passive participle of īnstīgō
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1678instigate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teyg-‘to be sharp’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstīgō‘to instigate’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstīgātus‘stimulated, set on, incited, roused or urged’perfect passive participle of īnstīgō
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1678instigate

Earliest quotation: 1678, Robert Barclay: “he might instigate them to swear against the law…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- ‘to be sharp’

style, attack, stock, stick, tiger, stitch, stigma, etiquette, detach, stylus, stiletto, tigress, 9 more

Today it means

verb To bring about by urging or encouraging.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- / instigate

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