English
pollution
Pollution comes from Latin pollūtiō ‘defilement, desecration’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *lew- ‘dirt, mud’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lew-‘dirt, mud’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpolluō‘to soil, defile, pollute, stain, foul’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpollūtiō‘defilement, desecration’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400pollutiun
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pollucioun‘desecration, impurity’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667pollution
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lew-‘dirt, mud’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpolluō‘to soil, defile, pollute, stain, foul’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpollūtiō‘defilement, desecration’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400pollutiun
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pollucioun‘desecration, impurity’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667pollution
Earliest quotation: 1667, John Milton, Book XII: “Men who attend the Altar, and should most /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lew- ‘dirt, mud’
Today it means
noun Physical contamination, now especially the contamination of the environment by harmful substances, or by disruptive levels of noise, light etc.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *lew- / pollution