English
insulse
Insulse comes from Latin īnsulsus ‘unsalted, flavorless’, from salsus ‘salted, witty’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l ‘salt’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sḗh₂l‘salt’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*saldōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsallō‘to salt’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalsus‘salted, witty’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnsulsus‘unsalted, flavorless’
- Englishearliest quotation 1642insulse
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sḗh₂l‘salt’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*saldōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsallō‘to salt’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalsus‘salted, witty’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnsulsus‘unsalted, flavorless’
- Englishearliest quotation 1642insulse
Earliest quotation: 1642, John Milton, Political: “[…] will ever appeare among the judicious to be…”
A compound of īnsulsus ‘unsalted, flavorless’ + salsus ‘salted’
Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l ‘salt’
Proto-Italic *saldō
Latin sallō ‘to salt’
Latin salsus ‘salted, witty’
Latin īnsulsus ‘unsalted, flavorless’
Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l ‘salt’
Proto-Italic *saldō
Latin sallō ‘to salt’
Latin salsus ‘salted’
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l
Today it means
adj insipid, dull, stupid or tasteless
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sḗh₂l / insulse