English
conducive
Conducive comes from Latin condūcō ‘to lead, bring or draw together’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dewk-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-1‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déwkti1‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*doukō1‘to lead’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūcō1‘lead’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcondūcō2as condūcere‘to lead, bring or draw together’
- Englishearliest quotation 1961conducive2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin conduco
- 2 Wiktionary, English conducive
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs: “According to the Roman Pliny the Elder, author of…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-Wiktionary, Latin conduco‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déwktiWiktionary, Latin conduco‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*doukōWiktionary, Latin conduco‘to lead’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūcōWiktionary, Latin conduco‘lead’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcondūcōWiktionary, English conduciveas condūcere‘to lead, bring or draw together’
- Englishearliest quotation 1961conduciveWiktionary, English conducive. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs: “According to the Roman Pliny the Elder, author of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to pull, to draw’
team, touch, tie, toy, introduce, tow, tying, tighten, tug, duchess, tuck, herzog, tether, taut, untie, tew, teem, induct, 97 more
through Proto-Indo-European *déwkti ‘to pull, to draw’
unproductive, abductor, productively, preproduction, 96 more
through Proto-Italic *doukō ‘to lead’
producer, productivity, productive, reproduction, reproduce, induction, deduction, seduction, byproduct, deduct, abduct, subduction, transduction, reductive, inductive, ductile, adductor, overproduction, dukedom, inductor, adduct, 100 more
through Latin dūcō ‘lead’
education, production, product, produce, reduce, duke, introduction, reduction, dolphin, educate, educator, douche, duct, induce, doge, subdue, seduce, duchy, transducer, redux, redoubt, duc, dux, duce, ducal, 121 more
through Latin condūcō ‘to lead, bring or draw together’
Today it means
adj Tending to contribute to, encourage, or bring about some result.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “conducive”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin conduco. 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 *dewk- / conducive