Etymograph

English

convulsive

Convulsive comes from Latin convulsiō ‘convulsion’, from vellō ‘to pull or tear down’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- ‘to hit, to strike’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₃-1‘to hit, to strike’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wl̥néh₃ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*welnō1‘to pull, tear’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvellō1‘to pull or tear down’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvellō2‘to shatter, batter, convulse’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvulsiō3as convulsiōnem‘convulsion’perfect passive participle of convellō
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentconvulsion4
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentconvulsif5
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1837convulsive5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin convello
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin convulsio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French convulsion
  4. 4 Wiktionary, French convulsif
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English convulsive
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, A First Night: “He scarcely appeared to heed what was doing on…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₃-Wiktionary, Latin convello‘to hit, to strike’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wl̥néh₃tiWiktionary, Latin convelloreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*welnōWiktionary, Latin convello‘to pull, tear’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvellōWiktionary, Latin convello‘to pull or tear down’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvellōWiktionary, Latin convulsio‘to shatter, batter, convulse’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconvulsiōWiktionary, French convulsionas convulsiōnem‘convulsion’perfect passive participle of convellō
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentconvulsionWiktionary, French convulsif
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentconvulsifWiktionary, English convulsive
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1837convulsiveWiktionary, English convulsive. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, A First Night: “He scarcely appeared to heed what was doing on…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- ‘to hit, to strike’

vulnerable, invulnerability, 22 more

through Latin vellō ‘to pull or tear down’

pull, 9 more

Today it means

adj Marked by or having the nature of convulsions.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “convulsive”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin convello, Latin convulsio, French convulsion, French convulsif. 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 *welh₃- / convulsive

Shirt and support for this word