English
mutate
Mutate comes from Latin mūtō ‘to exchange’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meyth₂-‘to exchange’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmūtō‘to exchange’
- Englishtodaymutate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meyth₂-‘to exchange’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmūtō‘to exchange’
- Englishtodaymutate
first attested First attested in 1796 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in 1796; back-formation from mutation on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), ultimately from Latin mūtō (‘to exchange; to change, to vary’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- ‘to exchange’
miss, message, mad, mess, commit, premise, madden, intermittent, omit, misnomer, transmute, 18 more
through Latin mūtō ‘to exchange’
mutant, commute, mute, molt, immutable, moult, transmutation, commutative, commutation, mutable, 11 more
Today it means
verb To undergo mutation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- / mutate