Etymograph

English

cull

Cull comes from Old French cuillir ‘collect, gather, select’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-1‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō1‘bring together, gather, collect’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcolligō2‘gather together’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400cuillir2‘collect, gather, select’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cullen2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1832cull2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin colligo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English cull
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1832, Eleanore: “[T]he yellowbanded bees, / Through half-open lattices / Coming…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-Wiktionary, Latin colligo‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵetiWiktionary, Latin colligoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legōWiktionary, Latin colligoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegōWiktionary, Latin colligo‘bring together, gather, collect’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcolligōWiktionary, English cull‘gather together’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400cuillirWiktionary, English cull‘collect, gather, select’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cullenWiktionary, English cull
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1832cullWiktionary, English cull. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1832, Eleanore: “[T]he yellowbanded bees, / Through half-open lattices / Coming…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning…’

technology, logic, collect, apology, catalogue, trilogy, sociology, analogy, terminology, physiology, pathology, logos, astrology, monologue, leach, prologue, pathologist, epilogue, archaeologist, logistic, lexicon, cosmology, lexical, etymology, epistemology, entomology, gynecologist, homologous, eulogy, dialectic, etiology, alexia, lignite, lexis, lignin, apologia, bacteriology, bacteriologist, syllogism, 150 more

through Proto-Italic *legō

selection, intelligence, intellectual, intelligent, ineligible, elector, legionnaire, legionella, legionary, 16 more

through Latin legō ‘bring together, gather, collect’

election, college, lesson, select, legend, elite, legacy, eligible, lecture, elect, elegant, delegation, legion, colleague, delegate, negligence, negligible, negligent, diligent, collegiate, legible, legation, legate, lectern, lector, ineligibility, collegium, 24 more

through Latin colligō ‘gather together’

collection, collective, coil, collector, recollect, 2 more

Today it means

verb To pick or take someone or something (from a larger group).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cull”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin colligo. 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 *leǵ- / cull

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