English
depart
Depart comes from Late Latin departiō ‘to divide’, from Latin pars ‘part, piece’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *partis.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*partis1‘part’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpars1‘part, piece’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartiō2‘part, divide’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdepartiō2‘to divide’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400departir2
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485depart2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin partio
- 2 Wiktionary, English depart
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1470–1485, (please specify the chapter): “and so all the worlde seythe that betwyxte three…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*partisWiktionary, Latin partio‘part’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparsWiktionary, Latin partio‘part, piece’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartiōWiktionary, English depart‘part, divide’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdepartiōWiktionary, English depart‘to divide’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400departirWiktionary, English depart
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485departWiktionary, English depart. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1470–1485, (please specify the chapter): “and so all the worlde seythe that betwyxte three…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to provide, produce, beget’
empire, experiment, expert, imperial, repair, preparation, parental, para, partisan, parity, imperium, imperious, pare, rampart, 32 more
through Proto-Italic *partis ‘part’
through Latin pars ‘part, piece’
particular, participate, participation, partial, particle, parcel, particulate, parse, 15 more
through Latin partiō ‘part, divide’
party, partition, impart, parter, bipartite, repartee, 8 more
Today it means
verb To leave.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “depart”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin partio. 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-Italic *partis / depart