Etymograph

English

dissimulate

Dissimulate comes from Latin dissimulātus ‘dissembled, hidden, concealed, disguised’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-1‘one, whole’next step skipped: Latin dissimulō
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissimulātus1‘dissembled, hidden, concealed, disguised’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dissimulaten1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1533dissimulate1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English dissimulate
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1533, John Bourchier: “That al thyng be forgiven to theim that be…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-Wiktionary, English dissimulate‘one, whole’next step skipped: Latin dissimulō
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissimulātusWiktionary, English dissimulate‘dissembled, hidden, concealed, disguised’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dissimulatenWiktionary, English dissimulate
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1533dissimulateWiktionary, English dissimulate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1533, John Bourchier: “That al thyng be forgiven to theim that be…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’

some, same, single, seem, simple, similar, simply, soft, sam, sincerely, resemble, assemble, anomaly, resemblance, singular, sincerity, simulation, simultaneous, semblance, anomalous, synapse, homology, homeopathic, hyphen, insincere, assimilate, sempre, simile, homolog, synchronise, simulacrum, 46 more

Today it means

verb To practise deception by concealment or omission, or by feigning a false appearance; to dissemble.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dissimulate”. 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 *sem- / dissimulate

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