English
putative
Putative comes from Latin putātīvus ‘supposed, purported’, from putātus ‘thought’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- ‘to be clean, pure’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewH-‘to be clean, pure’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEputō‘to think, to consider, to reckon’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEputātus‘thought’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEputātīvus‘supposed, purported’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600putatif
- Englishearliest quotation 1831putative
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewH-‘to be clean, pure’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEputō‘to think, to consider, to reckon’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEputātus‘thought’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEputātīvus‘supposed, purported’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600putatif
- Englishearliest quotation 1831putative
Earliest quotation: 1831, The Quarterly Christian Spectator: “In answer to the objection, that if a thing…”
The story
First attested c. 1432, from Middle French putatif, from Latin putātīvus (‘supposed, purported’), from putātus (‘thought’), from putō (‘to think, to consider, to reckon’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pewH- ‘to be clean, pure’
pure, deputy, pour, pity, reputation, purity, pious, piety, purification, purify, purist, purée, puro, expiation, 17 more
through Latin putō ‘to think, to consider, to reckon’
account, count, dispute, imp, compute, computation, indisputable, amputee, amputation, repute, indisputably, raconteur, depute, amputate, disputable, imputation, disputation, 10 more
Today it means
adj Commonly believed or deemed to be the case; generally assumed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pewH- / putative