Etymograph

English

amative

Amative comes from Latin amātus ‘loved’, from amō ‘love’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃emh₃- ‘to grab, to grasp, to seize, to take hold,…’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃emh₃-1‘to grab, to grasp, to seize, to take hold, tackle, touch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*amāō1‘to get hold of’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamō1‘love’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamātus1‘loved’perfect passive participle of amō
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500amātīvus1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1893amative1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English amative
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1893, George Bernard Shaw: “His amative enthusiasm, at which he is himself laughing,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃emh₃-Wiktionary, English amative‘to grab, to grasp, to seize, to take hold, tackle, touch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*amāōWiktionary, English amative‘to get hold of’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamōWiktionary, English amative‘love’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamātusWiktionary, English amative‘loved’perfect passive participle of amō
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500amātīvusWiktionary, English amative
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1893amativeWiktionary, English amative. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1893, George Bernard Shaw: “His amative enthusiasm, at which he is himself laughing,…”

Linked words

through Latin amō ‘love’

enemy, enmity, amour, amicable, amity, amenity, inimical, 19 more

Today it means

adj Pertaining to love; amorous.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “amative”. 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 *h₃emh₃- / amative

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