Etymograph

English

terminate

Terminate comes from Latin terminātus ‘marked off, bounded, limited’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*térmn̥‘boundary, end’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*termn̥‘boundary stone’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*term(e)nos‘boundary stone’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminus‘bound, limit’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminō‘to set bounds to, bound, limit, end, close, terminate’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminātus‘marked off, bounded, limited’perfect passive participle of terminō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500terminat‘bounded’
  8. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500terminaten‘to bring to an end’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1834terminate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*térmn̥‘boundary, end’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*termn̥‘boundary stone’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*term(e)nos‘boundary stone’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminus‘bound, limit’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminō‘to set bounds to, bound, limit, end, close, terminate’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminātus‘marked off, bounded, limited’perfect passive participle of terminō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500terminat‘bounded’
  8. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500terminaten‘to bring to an end’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1834terminate

Earliest quotation: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “She unlocked the casket which contained her mother's picture,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ter- ‘tender, weak’

thrill, intrigue, treachery, thro, inextricable, 31 more

through Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥ ‘boundary, end’

tram, 25 more

through Latin terminō ‘to set bounds to, bound, limit, end, close,…’

determination, extermination, determinism, interminable, 9 more

Another origin of terminate

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500terminat‘bounded’
  2. Englishtodayterminate

Today it means

verb To end something, especially when left in an incomplete state.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥ / terminate

Shirt and support for this word