English
purgative
Purgative comes from Middle French purgatif, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pewH- ‘to be clean, pure’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewH-‘to be clean, pure’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600purgatif
- Englishtodaypurgative
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewH-‘to be clean, pure’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600purgatif
- Englishtodaypurgative
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pewH- ‘to be clean, pure’
deputy, pure, reputation, pity, pour, purity, pious, piety, purification, purify, purist, putative, purée, puro, expiation, 16 more
Today it means
adj purging
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pewH- / purgative