English
antivenin
Antivenin comes from French antivenin ‘antivenom’, from venin ‘venom’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- ‘to strive, wish, love’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wenh₁-1‘to strive, wish, love’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*weneznom1‘lust, desire’reconstructed
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvenēnum2‘a potion, juice’
- Early Medieval Latinmodernvenīnum2
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*venīmen2reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400venim2‘venom’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600venin2‘venom’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentvenin3‘venom’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentantivenin3‘antivenom’
- Englishtodayantivenin3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin venenum
- 2 Wiktionary, French venin
- 3 Wiktionary, English antivenin
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wenh₁-Wiktionary, Latin venenum‘to strive, wish, love’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*weneznomWiktionary, Latin venenum‘lust, desire’reconstructed
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvenēnumWiktionary, French venin‘a potion, juice’
- Early Medieval LatinmodernvenīnumWiktionary, French venin
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*venīmenWiktionary, French veninreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400venimWiktionary, French venin‘venom’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600veninWiktionary, French venin‘venom’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentveninWiktionary, English antivenin‘venom’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentantiveninWiktionary, English antivenin‘antivenom’
- EnglishtodayantiveninWiktionary, English antivenin
Formed from anti- + venin ‘venom’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- ‘forehead’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts ‘forehead’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti ‘opposite’
Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ντῐ́ ‘over against, opposite’
English anti-
Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- ‘to strive, wish, love’
…
Vulgar Latin *venīmen
Old French venim
Middle French venin
French venin ‘venom’
English venin
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- ‘to strive, wish, love’
won, wish, win, wonder, wont, wen, wynn, venerable, wean, ween, winsome, venereal, venerate, 16 more
through Vulgar Latin *venīmen
through Old French venim ‘venom’
Today it means
noun Synonym of antivenom, (now) particularly for snakebites containing venin.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “antivenin”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin venenum, French venin. 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 *wenh₁- / antivenin