Etymograph

English

concert

Concert comes from French concert, from Italian concerto, from concertare, from Latin concertō ‘to contend’, ultimately from certus ‘resolved, certain’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-1‘to sieve, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kritós1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kritos1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcertus1‘resolved, certain’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcertō2‘to contend, strive’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcertō3as concertāre‘to fight or contend’
  7. Italianc. 1300–presentconcertare1‘to devise’
  8. Italianc. 1300–presentconcerto1‘concert’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentconcert1
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1710concert1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English concert
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin concerto
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Italian concertare
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1710, [Dr. Swift’s Journal to Stella.] Letter VII.: “The month ends with a fine day; and I…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-Wiktionary, English concert‘to sieve, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kritósWiktionary, English concertreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kritosWiktionary, English concertreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcertusWiktionary, English concert‘resolved, certain’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcertōWiktionary, Latin concerto‘to contend, strive’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcertōWiktionary, Italian concertareas concertāre‘to fight or contend’
  7. Italianc. 1300–presentconcertareWiktionary, English concert‘to devise’
  8. Italianc. 1300–presentconcertoWiktionary, English concert‘concert’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentconcertWiktionary, English concert
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1710concertWiktionary, English concert. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1710, [Dr. Swift’s Journal to Stella.] Letter VII.: “The month ends with a fine day; and I…”

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Today it means

verb To plan together; to settle or adjust by conference, agreement, or consultation.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “concert”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin concerto, Italian concertare. 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 *krey- / concert