English
suppository
Suppository comes from Latin suppōnō ‘to put under’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-‘to cultivate’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinétireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinō‘to put in place’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*pozinōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnō‘put, place’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuppōnō‘to put under’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500suppositōrium
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500suppositorie
- Englishearliest quotation 1976suppository
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-‘to cultivate’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinétireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinō‘to put in place’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*pozinōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnō‘put, place’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuppōnō‘to put under’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500suppositōrium
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500suppositorie
- Englishearliest quotation 1976suppository
Earliest quotation: 1976, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift: “He's smoother than a suppository, only his suppositories contain…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’
homeless, compound, hamlet, impose, bohemian, homely, hame, 50 more
through Proto-Indo-European *tḱinéti
prepositional, apposite, 38 more
through Proto-Italic *sinō ‘to put in place’
site, situation, composition, posture, preposition, situate, compostela, positivism, situs, 40 more
through Proto-Italic *pozinō
opposition, proposition, exposition, deposition, disposition, compost, imposition, impost, compositor, 24 more
through Latin pōnō ‘put, place’
post, position, purpose, positive, opponent, opposite, propose, expose, consolation, dispose, compose, proponent, exponent, repository, expound, posit, pone, 52 more
through Latin suppōnō ‘to put under’
Today it means
noun A medicine in the form of a small plug that is inserted into a bodily cavity, especially the rectum, vagina or urethra, where it melts at body temperature.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- / suppository