English
dissimulator
Dissimulator comes from Latin dissimulātor ‘a dissembler, faker, concealer’, from dissimilis ‘unlike’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem-h₂-lo-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-h₂-lo-1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*semalis1‘similiar’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsimilis1‘resembling, like’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissimilis2‘unlike’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissimulāre2‘to conceal, to pretend, to neglect’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissimulātor2‘a dissembler, faker, concealer’
- Englishtodaydissimulator2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin dissimilis
- 2 Wiktionary, English dissimulator
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-h₂-lo-Wiktionary, Latin dissimilisreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*semalisWiktionary, Latin dissimilis‘similiar’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsimilisWiktionary, Latin dissimilis‘resembling, like’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissimilisWiktionary, English dissimulator‘unlike’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissimulāreWiktionary, English dissimulator‘to conceal, to pretend, to neglect’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissimulātorWiktionary, English dissimulator‘a dissembler, faker, concealer’
- EnglishtodaydissimulatorWiktionary, English dissimulator
Formed from dissimulate + -or
Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’
Latin dissimulātus ‘dissembled, hidden, concealed, disguised’
Middle English dissimulaten
English dissimulate
Linked words
through Latin similis ‘resembling, like’
similar, assemble, simulation, semblance, assemblage, simulate, simile, simulacrum, 18 more
Today it means
noun One who dissimulates.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “dissimulator”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin dissimilis. 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-h₂-lo- / dissimulator