Etymograph

English

aliment

Aliment comes from French aliment ‘food’, from Latin alō ‘to nourish, sustain’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-1‘to grow, nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂életi2‘grow, nourish’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*alō2reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalō3‘to nourish, sustain’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalimentum4‘food’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentaliment4‘food’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1597aliment4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin alo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin alimentum
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English aliment
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1597, Francis Bacon, Of the Coulers of Good and Evill. A Fragment.: “As when Demosthenes reprehended the people for hearkening to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi‘to grow, nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂életiWiktionary, Latin alo‘grow, nourish’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*alōWiktionary, Latin aloreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalōWiktionary, Latin alimentum‘to nourish, sustain’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalimentumWiktionary, English aliment‘food’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentalimentWiktionary, English aliment‘food’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1597alimentWiktionary, English aliment. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1597, Francis Bacon, Of the Coulers of Good and Evill. A Fragment.: “As when Demosthenes reprehended the people for hearkening to…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow, nourish’

as, all, old, else, adult, el, ultimate, ultra, elder, alternate, element, outrage, alter, ellen, ou, altitude, alumni, qualification, alien, altar, alt, alpine, abolish, adolescent, alto, alum, alias, proletariat, auld, ulterior, alp, retaliate, altruism, parallax, alibi, coalesce, foetal, exalt, aad, eld, 65 more

through Latin alō ‘to nourish, sustain’

ambulance, ambulatory, alimony, ambler, amble, 19 more

Today it means

noun Food.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “aliment”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi, Latin alo, Latin alimentum. 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 *h₂el- / aliment

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