Etymograph

English

altiloquent

Altiloquent comes from Medieval Latin altiloquus ‘altiloquent, boastful’, from altus ‘high, tall’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘grow, nourish’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-1‘grow, nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eltós1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*altos1reconstructed
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500altus2‘high, tall’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500altiloquus2‘altiloquent, boastful’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1921altiloquent2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin altus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English altiloquent
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1921, Holman Day, All Wool Morrison: “He remembered that the politeness seemed too elaborate, too…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-Wiktionary, Latin altus‘grow, nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eltósWiktionary, Latin altusreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*altosWiktionary, Latin altusreconstructed
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500altusWiktionary, English altiloquent‘high, tall’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500altiloquusWiktionary, English altiloquent‘altiloquent, boastful’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1921altiloquentWiktionary, English altiloquent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1921, Holman Day, All Wool Morrison: “He remembered that the politeness seemed too elaborate, too…”

Linked words

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

as, all, else, adult, el, ultimate, element, ultra, alien, ellen, outrage, alternate, ou, alumni, alter, qualification, abolish, alpine, adolescent, alias, alum, proletariat, retaliate, alimony, alibi, alp, ulterior, parallax, altruism, coalesce, foetal, aad, althea, withal, 62 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós

old, elder, auld, eld, 13 more

through Medieval Latin altus ‘high, tall’

altitude, altar, alt, alto, haughty, haut, exalt, altimeter, 12 more

Today it means

adj Pompous, or pretentious in speech

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “altiloquent”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin altus. 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- / altiloquent

Shirt and support for this word