Etymograph

English

subtilize

Subtilize comes from French subtiliser ‘to snatch’, from subtil ‘subtle’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *tekslā.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tekslāreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtēla‘a web’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubtīlis‘fine, thin, slender’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400subtil
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600subtil
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentsubtil‘subtle’
  7. French, derivedc. 1600–presentsubtiliser‘to snatch’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1790subtilize

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tekslāreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtēla‘a web’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubtīlis‘fine, thin, slender’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400subtil
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600subtil
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentsubtil‘subtle’
  7. French, derivedc. 1600–presentsubtiliser‘to snatch’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1790subtilize

Earliest quotation: 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France: “Nor as yet have we subtilized ourselves into savages.”

Formed from subtle + -ize

Latin subtīlis ‘of texture: delicate, fine’

Anglo-Norman sotel

Middle English sotil ‘Discerning, perceptive, effective, intelligent’

English subtle

Linked words

through Latin tēla ‘a web’

subtlety, tiller, toilette, tela, 6 more

through Latin subtīlis ‘fine, thin, slender’

subtle, subtly, 5 more

Today it means

verb To make subtle; to make thin or fine; to make less gross or coarse.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *tekslā / subtilize

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