Etymograph

English

ambitious

Ambitious comes from Latin ambitio ‘a going around or about’, from Proto-Italic *eō ‘to go’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- ‘to go’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ey-1‘to go’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éyti1‘to go, to be going’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ejō1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*eō1‘to go’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeō1
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEambiō1‘go around’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEambitio2‘a going around or about’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEambitiosus2
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ambitieus2
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ambitious2
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1829ambitious2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin ambitio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English ambitious
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, Tamerlane: “I was ambitious—have you known The passion, father? You…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ey-Wiktionary, Latin ambitio‘to go’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éytiWiktionary, Latin ambitio‘to go, to be going’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ejōWiktionary, Latin ambitioreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*eōWiktionary, Latin ambitio‘to go’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeōWiktionary, Latin ambitio
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEambiōWiktionary, Latin ambitio‘go around’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEambitioWiktionary, English ambitious‘a going around or about’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEambitiosusWiktionary, English ambitious
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ambitieusWiktionary, English ambitious
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ambitiousWiktionary, English ambitious
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1829ambitiousWiktionary, English ambitious. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, Tamerlane: “I was ambitious—have you known The passion, father? You…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- ‘to go’

eid, itinerary, iter, 26 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti ‘to go, to be going’

ion, isthmus, cation, anionic, 21 more

through Proto-Italic *eō ‘to go’

initiative, initiate, initiation, initiator, 6 more

through Latin eō

issue, initial, exit, transition, trance, transient, eyre, obituary, sedition, transitory, transitive, praetorian, praetor, obit, seditious, 25 more

through Latin ambiō ‘go around’

ambient, ambiance, 4 more

Today it means

adj Having or showing ambition; wanting a lot of power, honor, respect, superiority, or other distinction.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ambitious”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin ambitio. 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 *h₁ey- / ambitious

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