Etymograph

English

diffract

Diffract comes from Latin diffractus ‘past participle of diffringo’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-1‘to break’next step skipped: Latin diffringō
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiffractus1‘past participle of diffringo’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1963diffract1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English diffract
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Lester del Rey: “Dave frowned as he tried to answer. "Well, I…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-Wiktionary, English diffract‘to break’next step skipped: Latin diffringō
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiffractusWiktionary, English diffract‘past participle of diffringo’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1963diffractWiktionary, English diffract. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Lester del Rey: “Dave frowned as he tried to answer. "Well, I…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’

break, broken, broke, brigade, brake, fragile, bracket, fraction, refrain, fragment, bray, fret, fracture, breech, suffrage, frail, infringe, brogan, brogue, refractory, fractal, 37 more

Today it means

verb To cause diffraction

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “diffract”. 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 *bʰreg- / diffract

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