Etymograph

English

onus

Onus comes from Latin onus ‘burden, load’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₃en(H)- ‘to onerate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃en(H)-‘to onerate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃én(H)os‘load’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*onos‘load, burden’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEonus‘burden, load’literally ‘burden’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1883same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃en(H)-‘to onerate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃én(H)os‘load’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*onos‘load, burden’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEonus‘burden, load’literally ‘burden’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1883same form

Earliest quotation: 1883, Henry Drummond: “The argument is founded on a principle which is…”

The story

Learned borrowing from Latin onus (literally “burden”).

Linked words

through Latin onus ‘burden, load’

exonerate, onerous, 3 more

Today it means

noun A legal obligation.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃en(H)- / onus

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