English
rumor
Rumor comes from Latin rūmor ‘common talk’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₃rewH- ‘to shout, to roar’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃rewH-‘to shout, to roar’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*roumōsreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErūmor‘common talk’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400rumeur
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rumour
- Englishearliest quotation 1906rumor
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃rewH-‘to shout, to roar’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*roumōsreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErūmor‘common talk’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400rumeur
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rumour
- Englishearliest quotation 1906rumor
Earliest quotation: 1906, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett: “It stands a city aloof. There hath been no…”
Linked words
through Middle English rumour
Today it means
noun A statement or claim of questionable accuracy, from no known reliable source, usually spread by word of mouth.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃rewH- / rumor