Etymograph

English

declamation

Declamation comes from Latin dēclāmō ‘to practise speaking, declaim, make speeches’, from clāmō ‘cry out, call’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‘to shout’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-1‘to shout’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclāmō2‘cry out, call’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēclāmō3‘to practise speaking, declaim, make speeches’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēclāmātiō3
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentdéclamation3
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1873declamation3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin clamo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin declamo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English declamation
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1873, Horatio Alger: “His recitations were prompt and correct, and his answers…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-Wiktionary, Latin clamo‘to shout’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclāmōWiktionary, Latin declamo‘cry out, call’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēclāmōWiktionary, English declamation‘to practise speaking, declaim, make speeches’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēclāmātiōWiktionary, English declamation
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentdéclamationWiktionary, English declamation
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1873declamationWiktionary, English declamation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1873, Horatio Alger: “His recitations were prompt and correct, and his answers…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‘to shout’

low, hell, clear, classic, calendar, haul, claire, clarity, reconcile, reconciliation, classify, acclaim, reclaim, proclaim, clarification, clarinet, squeal, claimant, exclaim, claret, irreconcilable, clarion, clas, conciliar, ecclesiastic, ecclesial, 31 more

through Latin clāmō ‘cry out, call’

claim, proclamation, clamour, clamor, exclamation, reclamation, 9 more

Today it means

noun The act or art of declaiming; rhetorical delivery; loud speaking in public.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “declamation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin clamo, Latin declamo. 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 *kelh₁- / declamation

Shirt and support for this word