English
remunerate
Remunerate comes from Latin remūnerō ‘to reward’, from mūnus ‘gift’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to attach, bind, strengthen’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-‘to attach, bind, strengthen’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*moy-nósreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moinos‘service’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmūnus‘gift’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEremūnerō‘to reward’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025remunerate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-‘to attach, bind, strengthen’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*moy-nósreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moinos‘service’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmūnus‘gift’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEremūnerō‘to reward’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025remunerate
Earliest quotation: 2025, James Osborne: “For all their toughness, Roman soldiers were poorly remunerated.…”
The story
Unrelated to money.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to attach, bind, strengthen’
mean, common, met, community, commission, minute, minister, ministry, minor, mess, meal, min, communication, commit, menu, compromise, missile, mutual, communist, minus, dismiss, mere, communicate, mole, ammunition, communism, premise, ammo, noodle, communal, moor, communion, mayhem, intermittent, mural, omit, mite, commune, monolith, minstrel, 76 more
through Latin mūnus ‘gift’
Today it means
verb To compensate; to pay.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mey- / remunerate