English
resolve
Resolve comes from Latin resolvō ‘loosen, thaw, melt, resolve’, from luō ‘to untie, set free, separate’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- ‘to cut off, release’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewh₁-‘to cut off, release’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*luh₁étireconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEluō‘to untie, set free, separate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolvō‘to loosen, unbind’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEresolvō‘loosen, thaw, melt, resolve’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400resolver
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500resolven‘to cause to disintegrate or decompose’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588resolve
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewh₁-‘to cut off, release’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*luh₁étireconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEluō‘to untie, set free, separate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolvō‘to loosen, unbind’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEresolvō‘loosen, thaw, melt, resolve’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400resolver
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500resolven‘to cause to disintegrate or decompose’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588resolve
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “With milke-white Hartes vpon an Iuorie ſled, / Thou…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- ‘to cut off, release’
lose, analysis, lease, analyst, paralysis, dialysis, palsy, paralyze, insoluble, paralytic, lysis, loess, 28 more
through Latin luō ‘to untie, set free, separate’
dissolution, absolution, 12 more
through Latin solvō ‘to loosen, unbind’
Today it means
verb To find a solution to (a problem).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- / resolve