Etymograph

English

concubinate

Concubinate comes from Latin concubinatus ‘cohabitation, concubinage’, from concumbō ‘to lie with’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewb-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kumbō1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*cumbō1‘to lie down, recline’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcumbō2‘to lie with’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcubīna3‘concubine’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcubinatus4‘cohabitation, concubinage’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1696concubinate4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin concumbo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin concubina
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin concubinatus
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English concubinate
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1696, Stephen Nye: “Polygamy was never desired, nor Divorces, or Concubinate practised…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewb-Wiktionary, Latin concumboreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kumbōWiktionary, Latin concumboreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*cumbōWiktionary, Latin concumbo‘to lie down, recline’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcumbōWiktionary, Latin concubina‘to lie with’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcubīnaWiktionary, Latin concubinatus‘concubine’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcubinatusWiktionary, English concubinate‘cohabitation, concubinage’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1696concubinateWiktionary, English concubinate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1696, Stephen Nye: “Polygamy was never desired, nor Divorces, or Concubinate practised…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb-

hip, cove, incumbent, cubicle, hobble, shoop, succubus, incubus, incubate, cubit, 13 more

through Latin *cumbō ‘to lie down, recline’

succumb, 8 more

Today it means

noun A concubinage.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “concubinate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin concumbo, Latin concubina, Latin concubinatus. 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 *ḱewb- / concubinate

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