English
invalidate
Invalidate comes from Middle French invalide, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600invalide
- Middle French, derivedc. 1400–1600invalider
- Englishearliest quotation 1978invalidate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600invalide
- Middle French, derivedc. 1400–1600invalider
- Englishearliest quotation 1978invalidate
Earliest quotation: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “The multiplicity of moral opinions is an empirical fact…”
first attested First attested in 1649 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in 1649; borrowed from Middle French invalider, from invalide + -er.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-
wild, value, equivalent, wool, velvet, valid, avail, valuation, vale, wield, fluff, flannel, vail, cuckold, valiant, valour, velour, woll, lanolin, valorous, 43 more
Today it means
verb To make invalid (especially in to contract law)
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- / invalidate