Etymograph

English

confide

Confide comes from Latin confīdō ‘to put trust in, have confidence in’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeydʰ-1‘to trust’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéydʰeti1‘to trust’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*feiðō1‘to trust’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīdō1‘trust’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconfīdō2as confīdere‘to put trust in, have confidence in’
  6. Middle Scotsmodernconfide2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1796confide2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin confido
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English confide
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk: “Be calm, lovely Antonia!" he replied; "no danger in…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeydʰ-Wiktionary, Latin confido‘to trust’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéydʰetiWiktionary, Latin confido‘to trust’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*feiðōWiktionary, Latin confido‘to trust’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīdōWiktionary, Latin confido‘trust’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconfīdōWiktionary, English confideas confīdere‘to put trust in, have confidence in’
  6. Middle ScotsmodernconfideWiktionary, English confide
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1796confideWiktionary, English confide. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk: “Be calm, lovely Antonia!" he replied; "no danger in…”

first attested First attested in English use in the early 17th century (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in English use in the early 17th century.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- ‘to trust’

federal, federation, defy, defiance, confederate, fidelity, bode, foi, fealty, infidel, perfidy, 29 more

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéydʰeti ‘to trust’

abide, bide, 9 more

through Latin fīdō ‘trust’

affidavit, fiduciary, diffident, 6 more

Today it means

verb To trust or have faith (in).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “confide”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin confido. 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 *bʰeydʰ- / confide

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