Etymograph

English

adduce

Adduce comes from Latin addūcere ‘to lead or bring to’, from Proto-Indo-European *déwkti ‘to pull, to draw’, and ultimately from *dewk-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-1‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déwkti1‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*doukō1‘to lead’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūcō2as dūcere‘to lead’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaddūcere2‘to lead or bring to’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500adducen2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1840adduce2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin duco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English adduce
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1840, Thomas de Quincey: “Enough could not be adduced to satisfy the purpose…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-Wiktionary, Latin duco‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déwktiWiktionary, Latin duco‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*doukōWiktionary, Latin duco‘to lead’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūcōWiktionary, English adduceas dūcere‘to lead’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaddūcereWiktionary, English adduce‘to lead or bring to’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500adducenWiktionary, English adduce
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1840adduceWiktionary, English adduce. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1840, Thomas de Quincey: “Enough could not be adduced to satisfy the purpose…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to draw, pull’

team, touch, tie, toy, introduce, tow, tying, tighten, tug, duchess, tuck, herzog, tether, taut, untie, tew, teem, induct, 95 more

through Proto-Indo-European *déwkti ‘to pull, to draw’

unproductive, productively, abductor, preproduction, 94 more

through Proto-Italic *doukō ‘to lead’

productive, productivity, producer, reproduction, conductor, reproduce, seduction, byproduct, conduction, deduct, inductive, subduction, transduction, reductive, abduct, overproduction, ductile, inductor, dukedom, 98 more

through Latin dūcō ‘to lead’

education, production, product, introduction, duke, produce, conduct, reduction, reduce, dolphin, educate, conn, induction, educator, douche, deduction, duct, doge, conducive, induce, subdue, cond, seduce, redux, duchy, redoubt, transducer, duc, dux, ducal, 117 more

Today it means

verb To bring forward or offer, as an argument, passage, or consideration which bears on a statement or case.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “adduce”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin duco. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dewk- / adduce

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