English
irrigation
Irrigation comes from Latin irrigatio ‘watering, irrigation’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *rigā- ‘to lead toward’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rigā-‘to lead toward’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErigō‘to irrigate, to lead, convey or conduct’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEirrigō‘to water or irrigate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEirrigatio‘watering, irrigation’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600irrigation
- Englishearliest quotation 1913same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rigā-‘to lead toward’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErigō‘to irrigate, to lead, convey or conduct’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEirrigō‘to water or irrigate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEirrigatio‘watering, irrigation’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600irrigation
- Englishearliest quotation 1913same form
Earliest quotation: 1913, Robert Barr: “My father had ideas about conservation long before the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *Hreyǵ- ‘to stretch tight, bind’
reach, rigid, rigorous, rigour, 7 more
through Latin rigō ‘to irrigate, to lead, convey or conduct’
Today it means
noun The act or process of irrigating, or the state of being irrigated; especially, the operation of causing water to flow over lands, for nourishing plants.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *rigā- / irrigation