Etymograph

English

contemplate

Contemplate comes from Latin contemplātus ‘having observed, noted, noticed’, and goes back to templum ‘temple, shrine, area for auspices’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtemplum1‘temple, shrine, area for auspices’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontemplor2‘to observe, survey, gaze (at), contemplate’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontemplātus2‘having observed, noted, noticed’perfect active participle of contemplor
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1671contemplate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin contemplor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English contemplate
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1671, John Milton, The First Book: “To love, at least contemplate and admire, / What…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtemplumWiktionary, Latin contemplor‘temple, shrine, area for auspices’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontemplorWiktionary, English contemplate‘to observe, survey, gaze (at), contemplate’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontemplātusWiktionary, English contemplate‘having observed, noted, noticed’perfect active participle of contemplor
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1671contemplateWiktionary, English contemplate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1671, John Milton, The First Book: “To love, at least contemplate and admire, / What…”

first attested First attested in the 1590s (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in the 1590s; borrowed from Latin contemplātus, the perfect active participle of contemplor (‘to observe, survey, gaze (at), contemplate’), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *temp- ‘to stretch, pull’

temperature, temporary, tense, antenna, temper, tempo, tamper, matin, tempura, 29 more

through Latin templum ‘temple, shrine, area for auspices’

temple, templar, 7 more

Today it means

verb To look at on all sides or in all its aspects; to view or consider with continued attention; to regard with deliberate care; to meditate on; to study, ponder, or consider.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “contemplate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin contemplor. 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 / Latin templum / contemplate

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