English
neglect
Neglect comes from Latin neglegō ‘to make light of, disregard, not to pick up’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglegō‘to make light of, disregard, not to pick up’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglēctusperfect passive participle of neglegō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500neglect
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglegō‘to make light of, disregard, not to pick up’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglēctusperfect passive participle of neglegō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500neglect
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “I hope My absence doth neglect no great designs.”
A compound of nec ‘not’ + legō ‘to pick up, select’
Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather’
Proto-Indo-European *léǵeti
Proto-Italic *legō
Latin legō ‘to pick up, select’
first attested First attested in 1460 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
The verb is inherited from Middle English neglect, neclect, derived from Latin neglēctus, perfect passive participle of neglegō (‘to make light of, disregard, not to pick up’), itself from nec (‘not’) + legō (‘to pick up, select’).
Linked words
through Latin neglegō ‘to make light of, disregard, not to pick up’
Today it means
verb To fail to care for or attend to something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin neglegō / neglect