Etymograph

English

aedility

Aedility comes from Latin aedīlitās ‘aedileship’, from aedīlis ‘commissioner or magistrate’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- ‘to ignite’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eydʰ-1‘to ignite’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éydʰ-s1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aiðes1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedis2as aedēs‘temple, shrine’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedīlis2‘commissioner or magistrate’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedīlitās2‘aedileship’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1604aedility2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin aedis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English aedility
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1604, Edward Topsell: “Their trunke or hand is most easie to be…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eydʰ-Wiktionary, Latin aedis‘to ignite’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éydʰ-sWiktionary, Latin aedisreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aiðesWiktionary, Latin aedisreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedisWiktionary, English aedilityas aedēs‘temple, shrine’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedīlisWiktionary, English aedility‘commissioner or magistrate’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaedīlitāsWiktionary, English aedility‘aedileship’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1604aedilityWiktionary, English aedility. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1604, Edward Topsell: “Their trunke or hand is most easie to be…”

Equivalent to aedile + -ity

Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- ‘to ignite’

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éydʰ-s

Proto-Italic *aiðes

Latin aedis ‘temple, shrine’

Latin aedīlis ‘commissioner or magistrate’

English aedile

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- ‘to ignite’

ethanol, ether, estuary, atrium, 18 more

through Latin aedis ‘temple, shrine’

edifice, edification, 6 more

Today it means

noun The office of an elected official responsible for festivals and the maintenance of public buildings.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “aedility”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin aedis. 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 *h₂eydʰ- / aedility

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