English
verbatim
Verbatim comes from Medieval Latin verbātim ‘word for word’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *werh₁- ‘to speak, say’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werh₁-‘to speak, say’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*werdʰom‘word’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*werðom‘word’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEverbum‘word’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500verbātim‘word for word’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591verbatim
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werh₁-‘to speak, say’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*werdʰom‘word’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*werðom‘word’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEverbum‘word’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500verbātim‘word for word’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591verbatim
Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “I […]am not able Verbatim to rehearse the method…”
The story
Attested in English since 1481 (therefore considered a Middle English derivation by some): from Medieval Latin verbātim (‘word for word’), from Latin verbum (‘word’) + -ātim (adverbial suffix).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *werh₁- ‘to speak, say’
through Proto-Indo-European *werdʰom ‘word’
through Proto-Italic *werðom ‘word’
through Latin verbum ‘word’
Today it means
adv Word for word; in exactly the same words as were used originally.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *werh₁- / verbatim