English
delinquency
Delinquency comes from Latin dēlinquēns ‘transgressing’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ- ‘to leave’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leykʷ-1‘to leave’root named by Wiktionary
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlinquō1‘to transgress, err’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlinquēns1‘transgressing’present participle of dēlinquō
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdēlinquentia1
- Englishearliest quotation 2023delinquency1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English delinquency
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Anna Bahney, Commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquencies rose in th: “Commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquencies increased in the first…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leykʷ-Wiktionary, English delinquency‘to leave’root named by Wiktionary
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlinquōWiktionary, English delinquency‘to transgress, err’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlinquēnsWiktionary, English delinquency‘transgressing’present participle of dēlinquō
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdēlinquentiaWiktionary, English delinquency
- Englishearliest quotation 2023delinquencyWiktionary, English delinquency. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Anna Bahney, Commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquencies rose in th: “Commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquencies increased in the first…”
Equivalent to delinquent + -cy
Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ- ‘to leave’
Latin delinquens ‘transgressing’
Middle French délinquant
English delinquent
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ- ‘to leave’
loan, lend, relic, elliptical, elliptic, relinquish, ellipse, ecliptic, ellipsis, 13 more
Today it means
noun Misconduct.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “delinquency”. 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 *leykʷ- / delinquency