English
intimate
Intimate comes from Latin intimō ‘to put or bring into, to impress, to make…’, from intimus ‘inmost, innermost, most intimate’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁én‘in’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*en‘in’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin‘in, at’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintus‘within’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimus‘inmost, innermost, most intimate’superlative of intus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimō‘to put or bring into, to impress, to make familiar’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimātusperfect passive participle of intimō
- Englishearliest quotation 1920intimate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁én‘in’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*en‘in’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin‘in, at’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintus‘within’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimus‘inmost, innermost, most intimate’superlative of intus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimō‘to put or bring into, to impress, to make familiar’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimātusperfect passive participle of intimō
- Englishearliest quotation 1920intimate
Earliest quotation: 1920, Cicero, London: G. Bell and Sons: “WE are such intimate friends that more than almost…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’
in, entrance, internal, indigenous, intern, endo, dysentery, interregnum, enteral, 32 more
through Proto-Italic *en ‘in’
impulse, incense, incubation, incubus, impel, censer, incubate, 8 more
through Latin in ‘in, at’
encounter, ensemble, envelop, emplacement, agog, 6 more
through Latin intus ‘within’
Another origin of intimate
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimātus
- Englishtodayintimate
Today it means
adj Closely acquainted; familiar.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁én / intimate