Etymograph

English

dissolution

Dissolution comes from Latin dissolūtiō ‘a dissolving, destroying, breaking up,…’, from solvō ‘to loosen, untie, undo’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- ‘to cut off, release’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewh₁-1‘to cut off, release’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*luh₁éti1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEluō1‘to untie, set free, separate’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolvō2‘to loosen, untie, undo’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissolvō3‘to unloose, disunite, separate, dissolve, destroy’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissolūtiō4‘a dissolving, destroying, breaking up, dissolution’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dissolucion4
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dissolucioun4‘dissoluteness, laxness, leniency’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1822dissolution4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin solvo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin dissolvo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin dissolutio
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English dissolution
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1822, John Barclay, Ancient and Modern: “The whole fabric dries up, or becomes putrid; and,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewh₁-Wiktionary, Latin solvo‘to cut off, release’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*luh₁étiWiktionary, Latin solvoreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEluōWiktionary, Latin solvo‘to untie, set free, separate’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolvōWiktionary, Latin dissolvo‘to loosen, untie, undo’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissolvōWiktionary, Latin dissolutio‘to unloose, disunite, separate, dissolve, destroy’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdissolūtiōWiktionary, English dissolution‘a dissolving, destroying, breaking up, dissolution’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dissolucionWiktionary, English dissolution
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dissoluciounWiktionary, English dissolution‘dissoluteness, laxness, leniency’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1822dissolutionWiktionary, English dissolution. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1822, John Barclay, Ancient and Modern: “The whole fabric dries up, or becomes putrid; and,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- ‘to cut off, release’

lose, analysis, lease, analyst, paralysis, palsy, dialysis, paralyze, insoluble, paralytic, lysis, loess, 26 more

through Latin luō ‘to untie, set free, separate’

resolve, 10 more

through Latin solvō ‘to loosen, untie, undo’

so, solve, resolution, sol, resolute, absolution, 9 more

Today it means

noun The termination of an organized body or legislative assembly, especially a formal dismissal.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dissolution”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin solvo, Latin dissolvo, Latin dissolutio. 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 *lewh₁- / dissolution

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