Etymograph

English

consumable

Consumable comes from Latin cōnsūmō ‘to take wholly or completely’, from emō ‘to buy, purchase’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁em- ‘to take’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁em-1‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁émeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*emō1‘to take’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEemō1‘to buy, purchase’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsūmō1‘to take, take up, catch, assume, seize, claim, arrogate’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsūmō1‘to take wholly or completely’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400consumer1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500consumen1
  9. English1500–presentconsume1
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1991consumable1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English consumable
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, Gayle Greene: “Atwood's Edible Woman offers a brilliant analysis of woman…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁em-Wiktionary, English consumable‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁émetiWiktionary, English consumablereconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*emōWiktionary, English consumable‘to take’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEemōWiktionary, English consumable‘to buy, purchase’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsūmōWiktionary, English consumable‘to take, take up, catch, assume, seize, claim, arrogate’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsūmōWiktionary, English consumable‘to take wholly or completely’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400consumerWiktionary, English consumable
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500consumenWiktionary, English consumable
  9. English1500–presentconsumeWiktionary, English consumable
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1991consumableWiktionary, English consumable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, Gayle Greene: “Atwood's Edible Woman offers a brilliant analysis of woman…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁em- ‘to take’

exempt, pommel, pomade, 56 more

through Proto-Italic *emō ‘to take’

presume, 47 more

through Latin emō ‘to buy, purchase’

premium, redemption, redeem, exemption, ransom, preemption, emptor, 42 more

through Latin sūmō ‘to take, take up, catch, assume, seize, claim,…’

assume, resume, assumption, sumptuous, 35 more

through Latin cōnsūmō ‘to take wholly or completely’

overconsumption, 23 more

Today it means

adj That is consumed or depleted upon use.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “consumable”. 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 *h₁em- / consumable

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