English
pecuniary
Pecuniary comes from Latin pecūniārius ‘pecuniary, financial’, from pecūnia ‘money’, from pecū ‘cattle’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- ‘livestock’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-‘livestock’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*péḱu‘cattle’reconstructed*u-stem of *peḱ-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*peku‘cattle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpecū‘cattle’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*pecūnus‘having cattle’reconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpecūnia‘money’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpecūniārius‘pecuniary, financial’
- Englishearliest quotation 1858pecuniary
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-‘livestock’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*péḱu‘cattle’reconstructed*u-stem of *peḱ-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*peku‘cattle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpecū‘cattle’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*pecūnus‘having cattle’reconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpecūnia‘money’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpecūniārius‘pecuniary, financial’
- Englishearliest quotation 1858pecuniary
Earliest quotation: 1858, Anthony Trollope, Chapter IV: “Perhaps the reader will suppose after this that the…”
Linked words
pairs
- pecuniary and fee both from Proto-Indo-European *péḱu ‘livestock’
through Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- ‘livestock’
fight, fellow, fax, feudal, fawn, peculiar, fain, 25 more
through Proto-Indo-European *péḱu ‘cattle’
feud, cynical, hound, poodle, feu, cynic, chenille, 13 more
through Latin pecū ‘cattle’
through Latin pecūnia ‘money’
Today it means
adj Of, or relating to, money; monetary, financial.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- / pecuniary