English
moderate
Moderate comes from Middle English moderat ‘moderate, temperate’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-‘to measure’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500moderat‘moderate, temperate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1731moderate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-‘to measure’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500moderat‘moderate, temperate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1731moderate
Earliest quotation: 1731, Jonathan Swift: “A number of moderate members managed […] to obtain…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure’
must, medical, medicine, model, mud, medication, mood, med, remedy, meditation, mold, medicinal, module, blackmail, modest, medic, modification, mould, meditate, modulation, modal, modus, modulus, modicum, mete, mote, modulate, modifiable, modulo, commode, 30 more
Another origin of moderate
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoderātus‘mitigated, managed, controlled, moderated’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500moderat
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500moderaten‘to restrain, curb’
- Englishtodaymoderate
Today it means
adj Not excessive; acting in moderation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *med- / moderate