Etymograph

English

deliration

Deliration comes from Latin dēlīrātio ‘silliness, folly, madness’, from dēlīrō ‘to deviate from a straight line’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leys- ‘to trace, to track’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leys-1‘to trace, to track’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lóyseh₂1‘following, track’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*loizā1‘furrow’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīra1‘track, rut’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlīrō2‘to deviate from a straight line’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlīrātio3‘silliness, folly, madness’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1673deliration3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin deliro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin deliratio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English deliration
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1673, Richard Baxter: “[…] if he speak the words of an oath…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leys-Wiktionary, Latin deliro‘to trace, to track’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lóyseh₂Wiktionary, Latin deliro‘following, track’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*loizāWiktionary, Latin deliro‘furrow’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīraWiktionary, Latin deliro‘track, rut’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlīrōWiktionary, Latin deliratio‘to deviate from a straight line’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlīrātioWiktionary, English deliration‘silliness, folly, madness’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1673delirationWiktionary, English deliration. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1673, Richard Baxter: “[…] if he speak the words of an oath…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *leys- ‘to trace, to track’

last, less, learn, list, lore, leer, 7 more

through Latin līra ‘track, rut’

lira, 5 more

Today it means

noun aberration of the mind; delirium

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “deliration”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin deliro, Latin deliratio. 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 *leys- / deliration

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