Etymograph

English

condign

Condign comes from Latin condignus ‘appropriate, entirely worthy, befitting,…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to take’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-1‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-no1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dek-no-1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdignus2‘worthy’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcondignus2‘appropriate, entirely worthy, befitting, wholly deserved, condign’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400condigne2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500condigne2‘suitable’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1591condign2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin dignus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English condign
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Vnlesse it were a bloody Murtherer, Or foule felonious…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-Wiktionary, Latin dignus‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-noWiktionary, Latin dignusreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dek-no-Wiktionary, Latin dignusreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdignusWiktionary, English condign‘worthy’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcondignusWiktionary, English condign‘appropriate, entirely worthy, befitting, wholly deserved, condign’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400condigneWiktionary, English condign
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500condigneWiktionary, English condign‘suitable’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1591condignWiktionary, English condign. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Vnlesse it were a bloody Murtherer, Or foule felonious…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to take’

doctor, document, decent, tail, doctrine, paradox, decoration, decor, dogma, docile, doctrinal, dodo, dox, fonda, docent, 52 more

through Proto-Italic *dek-no-

indignity, 5 more

through Latin dignus ‘worthy’

dignity, disdain, dainty, indignation, indignant, dignitary, deign, digne, 6 more

Today it means

adj Fitting, appropriate, deserved, especially denoting punishment.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “condign”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin dignus. 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 *deḱ- / condign

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