Etymograph

English

mend

Mend comes from Middle English menden ‘to cure’, from Latin ēmendō ‘to atone’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mend- ‘defect’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mend-‘defect’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmendum‘defect’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmendō‘to atone’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmendārepresent active infinitive of ēmendō
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400amender
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500menden‘to cure’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1535mend

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mend-‘defect’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmendum‘defect’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmendō‘to atone’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmendārepresent active infinitive of ēmendō
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400amender
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500menden‘to cure’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1535mend

Earliest quotation: 1535, Myles Coverdale: “[H]e [Jesus] ſawe other two brethren, James the ſonne…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mend- ‘defect’

amendment, amendatory, 13 more

Another origin of mend

  1. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400amende
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mend
  3. Englishtodaysame form

Today it means

verb To physically repair (something that is broken, defaced, decayed, torn, or otherwise damaged).

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mend- / mend

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