English
appellative
Appellative comes from Late Latin appellātīvus ‘appellative, belonging to a species’, from Latin appellō ‘to address as’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- ‘to approach’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pelh₂-1‘to approach’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellō1‘push, drive, hurl’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEappellō2‘to address as’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEappellātīvus3‘appellative, belonging to a species’
- Englishearliest quotation 1678appellative3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin appello
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin appellativus
- 3 Wiktionary, English appellative
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1678, Ralph Cudworth, London: […] Richard Royston: “as these things of nature, or natures of things,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pelh₂-Wiktionary, Latin appello‘to approach’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellōWiktionary, Latin appello‘push, drive, hurl’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEappellōWiktionary, Latin appellativus‘to address as’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEappellātīvusWiktionary, English appellative‘appellative, belonging to a species’
- Englishearliest quotation 1678appellativeWiktionary, English appellative. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1678, Ralph Cudworth, London: […] Richard Royston: “as these things of nature, or natures of things,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- ‘to approach’
through Latin pellō ‘push, drive, hurl’
pulse, repeal, compulsory, propulsion, expulsion, compulsive, compel, expel, repel, propel, dispel, pelt, impel, rappel, 16 more
through Latin appellō ‘to address as’
Today it means
adj Of or pertaining to an appellative noun or common noun.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “appellative”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin appello, Latin appellativus. 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 *pelh₂- / appellative