English
argue
Argue comes from Old French arguer, from Latin arguō ‘to make clear’, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erǵ- ‘white, shining’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂erǵ-1‘white, shining’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂érǵus1‘white’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*argus1‘bright’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarguō1‘to make clear, prove, accuse’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400arguer1‘to argue’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arguen1‘to argue’
- Englishearliest quotation 1910argue1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English argue
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1910, Saki pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro, The Soul of Laploshka: “To have killed Laploshka was one thing; to have…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂erǵ-Wiktionary, English argue‘white, shining’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂érǵusWiktionary, English argue‘white’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*argusWiktionary, English argue‘bright’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarguōWiktionary, English argue‘to make clear, prove, accuse’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400arguerWiktionary, English argue‘to argue’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arguenWiktionary, English argue‘to argue’
- Englishearliest quotation 1910argueWiktionary, English argue. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1910, Saki pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro, The Soul of Laploshka: “To have killed Laploshka was one thing; to have…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂erǵ- ‘white, shining’
through Proto-Italic *argus
argumentative, argumentation, 29 more
through Latin arguō ‘to clarify, to make plain’
through Middle English arguen
Today it means
verb To show grounds for concluding (that); to indicate, imply.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “argue”. 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 *h₂erǵ- / argue