Etymograph

English

castigate

Castigate comes from Latin castīgātus ‘castigated’, from castīgō ‘to reprove’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *kastos.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kastos1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcastus2as *castis‘purity, virtue’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcastīgō3‘to reprove’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcastīgātus3‘castigated’perfect passive participle of castīgō
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1573castigate3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin castus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin castigo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English castigate
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1573, The Whole Workes of W. Tyndall, Iohn Frith: “God doth indurate, when hee doth not by and…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kastosWiktionary, Latin castusreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcastusWiktionary, Latin castigoas *castis‘purity, virtue’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcastīgōWiktionary, English castigate‘to reprove’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcastīgātusWiktionary, English castigate‘castigated’perfect passive participle of castīgō
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1573castigateWiktionary, English castigate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1573, The Whole Workes of W. Tyndall, Iohn Frith: “God doth indurate, when hee doth not by and…”

The story

First attested in the beginning of the 17ᵗʰ century; borrowed from Latin castīgātus, perfect passive participle of castīgō (‘to reprove’) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from castus (‘pure, chaste’), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱes- (‘to cut’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱes- ‘to cut’

castle, caries, cashel, castello, cassation, castell, castrate, 19 more

through Latin castus ‘purity, virtue’

caste, chastity, chaste, chastisement, 2 more

through Latin castīgō ‘to reprove’

chastise, 3 more

Today it means

verb To punish or reprimand someone severely.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “castigate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin castus, Latin castigo. 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-Italic *kastos / castigate

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