Etymograph

English

mactate

Mactate comes from Latin mactātus ‘slaughtered, killed, having been slaughtered’, from mactō ‘to kill, sacrifice, immolate’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂ḱ- ‘to raise, increase’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₂ḱ-‘to raise, increase’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mh₂ḱtósreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*maktos‘glorified, worshiped, honored, adored’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmactus‘glorified, worshiped, honored, adored’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmactō‘to kill, sacrifice, immolate’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmactātus‘slaughtered, killed, having been slaughtered’perfect passive participle of mactō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1860mactate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₂ḱ-‘to raise, increase’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mh₂ḱtósreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*maktos‘glorified, worshiped, honored, adored’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmactus‘glorified, worshiped, honored, adored’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmactō‘to kill, sacrifice, immolate’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmactātus‘slaughtered, killed, having been slaughtered’perfect passive participle of mactō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1860mactate

Earliest quotation: 1860, The Rev. William Henderson et al., D.C.L.: “As has been shown, it is historically true that…”

first attested First attested in 1623 (as stated in the etymology)

The story

First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin mactātus, perfect passive participle of mactō (‘to kill, sacrifice, immolate’) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from mactus (‘honoured’); compare Middle French macter.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *meh₂ḱ- ‘to raise, increase’

macro, meager, meagre, 13 more

through Latin mactō ‘to kill, sacrifice, immolate’

machete, 1 more

Today it means

verb To kill in sacrifice.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *meh₂ḱ- / mactate

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