Etymograph

English

asportation

Asportation comes from Latin asportatio ‘removal, training’, from portō ‘carry, bear’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥téh₂1uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portā1‘gate’uncertain
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portāō1‘to carry’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportō1‘carry, bear’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEasportō2‘to carry away or take off, remove’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEasportatio3‘removal, training’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2011asportation3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin asporto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin asportatio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English asportation
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2011, James W. H. McCord, Criminal Law and Procedure for the Paralegal: “Kidnapping usually includes the seizing, confining, and carrying away…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Latin asportouncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥téh₂Wiktionary, Latin asportouncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portāWiktionary, Latin asporto‘gate’uncertain
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portāōWiktionary, Latin asporto‘to carry’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportōWiktionary, Latin asporto‘carry, bear’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEasportōWiktionary, Latin asportatio‘to carry away or take off, remove’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEasportatioWiktionary, English asportation‘removal, training’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2011asportationWiktionary, English asportation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2011, James W. H. McCord, Criminal Law and Procedure for the Paralegal: “Kidnapping usually includes the seizing, confining, and carrying away…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per-

first, before, far, per, price, press, further, private, fear, pre, practice, primary, prime, appreciate, opportunity, prize, pregnant, prior, afford, practical, ford, praise, privilege, precious, parade, par, forth, ferry, fare, pirate, prix, interpretation, primitive, pardon, interpreter, privy, prism, portable, peril, afar, 139 more

through Proto-Italic *portā ‘gate’

porch, portal, rapporteur, porta, portico, 18 more

through Proto-Italic *portāō ‘to carry’

transport, importance, sport, export, import, porter, rapport, deport, comport, 13 more

through Latin portō ‘carry, bear’

support, report, port, 20 more

Today it means

noun The illegal movement of goods or carrying away of a person.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “asportation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin asporto, Latin asportatio. 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 *per- / asportation

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