Etymograph

English

decorate

Decorate comes from Latin decorātus ‘decorate, adorned, embellished, graced,…’, from decus ‘honor, distinction, glory’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to take’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-1‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱos1‘that which is proper’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dekos1‘dignity’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecus1‘honor, distinction, glory’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecorō2‘to adorn, distinguish, honor’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecorātus2‘decorate, adorned, embellished, graced, beautified’perfect passive participle of decorō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500decorat2‘adorned’
  8. Englishtodaydecorate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin decoro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English decorate

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-Wiktionary, Latin decoro‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱosWiktionary, Latin decoro‘that which is proper’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dekosWiktionary, Latin decoro‘dignity’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecusWiktionary, Latin decoro‘honor, distinction, glory’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecorōWiktionary, English decorate‘to adorn, distinguish, honor’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecorātusWiktionary, English decorate‘decorate, adorned, embellished, graced, beautified’perfect passive participle of decorō
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500decoratWiktionary, English decorate‘adorned’
  8. EnglishtodaydecorateWiktionary, English decorate

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to take’

doctor, document, tail, dignity, decent, doctrine, paradox, disdain, dogma, dainty, fonda, indignation, docile, doctrinal, dodo, indignant, dox, dignitary, docent, digne, deign, 55 more

Today it means

verb To furnish with decorations.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “decorate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin decoro. 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 *deḱ- / decorate

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