English
punitive
Punitive comes from Medieval Latin pūniō ‘to punish’, from Ancient Greek ποινή ‘fine, ransom, penalty, penance, satisfaction’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-‘to pay’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷoynéh₂‘punishment, vengeance’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoinā́reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποινήpoinḗ‘fine, ransom, penalty, penance, satisfaction’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoena‘punishment, penalty’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500pūniō‘to punish’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500pūnitīvus
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600punitif
- Englishearliest quotation 2006punitive
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-‘to pay’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷoynéh₂‘punishment, vengeance’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoinā́reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποινήpoinḗ‘fine, ransom, penalty, penance, satisfaction’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoena‘punishment, penalty’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500pūniō‘to punish’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500pūnitīvus
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600punitif
- Englishearliest quotation 2006punitive
Earliest quotation: 2006, Judge Cuts Amount of Vioxx Award: “But Judge Alex W. Gabert, in a Rio Grande…”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’
poetry, painful, poem, poet, painless, whey, titanium, onomatopoeia, 20 more
through Ancient Greek ποινή ‘fine, ransom, penalty, penance, satisfaction’
through Latin poena ‘punishment, penalty’
pain, pine, penal, impunity, 4 more
through Medieval Latin pūniō ‘to punish’
Today it means
adj Inflicting punishment; punishing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- / punitive