Etymograph

English

dilatation

Dilatation comes from Old French dilatation ‘dilation’, from Late Latin dīlātātio ‘extending, enlarging’, and ultimately from Latin lātus ‘wide’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElātus1‘wide’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīlātō2‘to spread out, extend, dilate’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdīlātātio3‘extending, enlarging’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dilatation3‘dilation’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1927dilatation3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin dilato
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin dilatatio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English dilatation
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex: “These [boys being groomed as prostitutes] are sold by…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElātusWiktionary, Latin dilato‘wide’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīlātōWiktionary, Latin dilatatio‘to spread out, extend, dilate’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdīlātātioWiktionary, English dilatation‘extending, enlarging’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dilatationWiktionary, English dilatation‘dilation’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1927dilatationWiktionary, English dilatation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex: “These [boys being groomed as prostitutes] are sold by…”

Linked words

through Latin lātus ‘wide’

le, lateral, latitude, 13 more

Today it means

noun Prolixity; diffuse discourse.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dilatation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin dilato, Latin dilatatio. 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 / Latin lātus / dilatation

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