Etymograph

English

moribund

Moribund comes from Latin moribundus ‘dying’, from morior ‘die’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mer-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mer-‘to die’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mr̥yétor‘to die’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moriōr‘to die’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmorior‘die’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoribundus‘dying’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1899moribund

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mer-‘to die’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mr̥yétor‘to die’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moriōr‘to die’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmorior‘die’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoribundus‘dying’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1899moribund

Earliest quotation: 1899, Joseph Conrad, The Heart of Darkness: “These moribund shapes were free as air—and nearly as…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mer- ‘to die’

remember, march, murder, marine, nightmare, mere, marsh, maritime, mare, mortality, mortal, mara, mortar, muller, moor, morbid, ambrosia, mort, morn, maar, marinate, marinara, cormorant, 61 more

through Latin morior ‘die’

mortuary, 6 more

Today it means

adj Approaching death; about to die; dying; expiring.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mer- / moribund

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