English
vivid
Vivid comes from Latin vīvidus ‘animated, spirited’, from Proto-Italic *gʷīwō ‘to live, to be alive’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷíh₃weti.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷíh₃weti‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷīwō‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīvō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīvidus‘animated, spirited’
- Englishearliest quotation 1907vivid
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷíh₃weti‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷīwō‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīvō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīvidus‘animated, spirited’
- Englishearliest quotation 1907vivid
Earliest quotation: 1907, Harold Bindloss, Toronto: “The vivid, untrammeled life appealed to him, and for…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’
biology, hygiene, vitamin, kidney, viable, zodiac, vitality, revive, anaerobic, quicken, quicksilver, quickness, biogenesis, wyvern, 57 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós ‘alive, living’
through Latin vīvō
Today it means
adj Clear, detailed, or powerful.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷíh₃weti / vivid