Etymograph

English

defunct

Defunct comes from Latin dēfunctus ‘done with, performed, finished, having finished’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰewg- ‘to enjoy, to be of use’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰewg-1‘to enjoy, to be of use’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰu-né-g-ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fungōr1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfungor2‘perform, execute’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfungor3‘to finish, discharge’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfunctus3‘done with, performed, finished, having finished’past participle of dēfungor
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1599defunct3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin fungor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin defungor
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English defunct
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift: “The organs, though defunct and dead before, / Break…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰewg-Wiktionary, Latin fungor‘to enjoy, to be of use’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰu-né-g-tiWiktionary, Latin fungorreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fungōrWiktionary, Latin fungorreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfungorWiktionary, Latin defungor‘perform, execute’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfungorWiktionary, English defunct‘to finish, discharge’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēfunctusWiktionary, English defunct‘done with, performed, finished, having finished’past participle of dēfungor
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1599defunctWiktionary, English defunct. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift: “The organs, though defunct and dead before, / Break…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰewg- ‘to enjoy, to be of use’

refugee, refuge, fugue, perfunctory, 14 more

through Proto-Italic *fungōr

fungible, functionary, 2 more

through Latin fungor ‘perform, execute’

function, fungi, 4 more

Today it means

adj No longer in use or active, nor expected to be again.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “defunct”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin fungor, Latin defungor. 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 *bʰewg- / defunct

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