Etymograph

English

corrupt

Corrupt comes from Latin corruptus ‘perverted, corrupted’, from rumpō ‘to break in pieces’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrewp-1‘break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrunépti ~ *Hrumpénti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rumpō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErumpō2‘to break in pieces’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcorrumpō2‘to destroy, ruin, injure, spoil, corrupt, bribe’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcorruptus2‘perverted, corrupted’past participle of corrumpō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500corrupten2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1603corrupt2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin rumpo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English corrupt
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes: “with such corrupt and pestilent bread to feed them.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrewp-Wiktionary, Latin rumpo‘break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrunépti ~ *HrumpéntiWiktionary, Latin rumporeconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rumpōWiktionary, Latin rumporeconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErumpōWiktionary, English corrupt‘to break in pieces’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcorrumpōWiktionary, English corrupt‘to destroy, ruin, injure, spoil, corrupt, bribe’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcorruptusWiktionary, English corrupt‘perverted, corrupted’past participle of corrumpō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500corruptenWiktionary, English corrupt
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1603corruptWiktionary, English corrupt. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes: “with such corrupt and pestilent bread to feed them.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- ‘break’

route, rob, robbery, rover, robe, reaver, 23 more

through Latin rumpō ‘to break in pieces’

rout, disrupt, eruption, rupture, erupt, 10 more

Today it means

adj Willing to act dishonestly for personal gain; accepting bribes.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “corrupt”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin rumpo. 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 *Hrewp- / corrupt

Shirt and support for this word