English
operate
Operate comes from Latin operātus ‘having worked, laboured, toiled’, from opus ‘work, labor, accomplishment’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-‘to work’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃épos‘work’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opos‘work’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopus‘work’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEopera
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperātus‘having worked’
- Englishearliest quotation 1706operate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-‘to work’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃épos‘work’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opos‘work’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopus‘work’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEopera
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperātus‘having worked’
- Englishearliest quotation 1706operate
Earliest quotation: 1706, Francis Atterbury: “The Virtues of private Perſons, how Bright and Exemplary…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’
office, official, bus, copy, omnibus, copious, opulence, officiate, omnivore, officiant, officious, 25 more
through Latin opus ‘work, labor, accomplishment’
through Latin opera
ure, oeuvre, operetta, 12 more
through Latin operātus ‘having worked, laboured, toiled’
Today it means
verb To perform a work or labour; to exert power or strength, physical or mechanical; to act.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- / operate