English
decoct
Decoct comes from Latin dēcoquō ‘to boil down’, from coquō ‘to cook’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pekʷ-1‘to cook, become ripe’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pékʷeti1‘to be cooking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷekʷō1‘to cook’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquō2‘to cook’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcoquō2‘to boil down’
- Englishearliest quotation 1426decoct2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin coquo
- 2 Wiktionary, English decoct
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1426, c. 1330, Guillaume de Deguileville: “[…] and that rednesse / may neuere tournë to…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pekʷ-Wiktionary, Latin coquo‘to cook, become ripe’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pékʷetiWiktionary, Latin coquo‘to be cooking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷekʷōWiktionary, Latin coquo‘to cook’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquōWiktionary, English decoct‘to cook’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcoquōWiktionary, English decoct‘to boil down’
- Englishearliest quotation 1426decoctWiktionary, English decoct. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1426, c. 1330, Guillaume de Deguileville: “[…] and that rednesse / may neuere tournë to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- ‘to cook, become ripe’
pumpkin, quitter, ricotta, peptic, dyspepsia, 14 more
through Latin coquō ‘to cook’
coach, kitchen, cook, cuisine, culinary, kiln, concoction, concoct, 6 more
Today it means
verb To make an infusion.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “decoct”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin coquo. 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 *pekʷ- / decoct