English
veteran
Veteran comes from Latin veterānus ‘old, veteran’, from Proto-Italic *wetos ‘year’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wet-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wet-‘year’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wétos‘year’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wetos‘year’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvetus‘old, aged’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEveterānus‘old, veteran’stem veter- of vetus
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600vétéran
- Englishearliest quotation 1849–1861veteran
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wet-‘year’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wétos‘year’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wetos‘year’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvetus‘old, aged’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEveterānus‘old, veteran’stem veter- of vetus
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600vétéran
- Englishearliest quotation 1849–1861veteran
Earliest quotation: 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, London: Longman: “The insinuating eloquence and delicate flattery of veteran diplomatists…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wet- ‘year’
through Proto-Indo-European *wétos ‘year’
through Latin vetus ‘old, aged’
Today it means
noun A person with long experience of a particular activity.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wet- / veteran