English
renege
Renege comes from Latin renegō ‘to deny, renounce, disown, reject’, from ne ‘not’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *néh₁.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néh₁reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nē‘not’reconstructed
- Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEnei
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEne‘not’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegō‘to deny’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErenegō‘to deny, renounce, disown, reject’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607renege
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néh₁reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nē‘not’reconstructed
- Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEnei
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEne‘not’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegō‘to deny’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErenegō‘to deny, renounce, disown, reject’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607renege
Earliest quotation: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “His captaines heart, / Which in the ſcuffles of…”
The story
Possibly influenced by renegotiate.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ- ‘to say’
deny, prodigious, adage, 2 more
through Proto-Indo-European *né ‘not’
no, na, ne, negotiate, negotiator, 15 more
through Archaic Latin nei
through Latin negō ‘to deny’
Today it means
verb To break a promise or commitment; to go back on one's word.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *néh₁ / renege