English
compromit
Compromit comes from Latin comprōmittō ‘to compromise’, from prōmittō ‘send forth, promise’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méyth₂eti.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méyth₂eti1uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meitō1‘to put forth, put out’uncertain
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEmītō1uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō1‘to send’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōmittō2‘send forth, promise’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomprōmittō3as compromittere‘to compromise’
- Englishearliest quotation 1751compromit3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin promitto
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin compromitto
- 3 Wiktionary, English compromit
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1751, 1529, The Parliamentary Or Constitutional History of England: “XXIV. Also, the same Lord Cardinal, at many Times…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méyth₂etiWiktionary, Latin promittouncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meitōWiktionary, Latin promitto‘to put forth, put out’uncertain
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEmītōWiktionary, Latin promittouncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittōWiktionary, Latin promitto‘to send’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōmittōWiktionary, Latin compromitto‘send forth, promise’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomprōmittōWiktionary, English compromitas compromittere‘to compromise’
- Englishearliest quotation 1751compromitWiktionary, English compromit. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1751, 1529, The Parliamentary Or Constitutional History of England: “XXIV. Also, the same Lord Cardinal, at many Times…”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *meitō ‘to put forth, put out’
remission, unremitting, 18 more
through Old Latin mītō
permission, transmission, admission, submission, emission, omission, remit, commissariat, 20 more
through Latin mittō ‘to send’
mission, mess, committee, admit, missile, dismiss, commit, premise, transmit, intermittent, emit, permissive, amit, remiss, commissary, commissar, missive, 34 more
through Latin prōmittō ‘send forth, promise’
Today it means
verb To compromise.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “compromit”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin promitto, Latin compromitto. 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 *méyth₂eti / compromit