Etymograph

English

donate

Donate comes from Latin dono ‘to give’, from Proto-Italic *dōnom ‘gift, present’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘to give’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-1‘to give’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dóh₃r̥ ~ *déh₃n̥s1uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃nom1‘gift’uncertain
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōnom1‘gift, present’uncertain
  5. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōnāō1‘to give, present’uncertain
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdono2as dōnāre‘to give’
  7. Englishtodaydonate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin dono
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English donate

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-Wiktionary, Latin dono‘to give’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dóh₃r̥ ~ *déh₃n̥sWiktionary, Latin donouncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃nomWiktionary, Latin dono‘gift’uncertain
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōnomWiktionary, Latin dono‘gift, present’uncertain
  5. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōnāōWiktionary, Latin dono‘to give, present’uncertain
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdonoWiktionary, English donateas dōnāre‘to give’
  7. EnglishtodaydonateWiktionary, English donate

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘to give’

add, die, data, addition, date, rent, delicious, tradition, surrender, dose, vent, render, treason, vendor, donor, additive, rendezvous, dow, rendition, addendum, dowry, antidote, anecdote, dowager, perdition, dative, endow, dower, dacha, sconce, dati, 40 more

through Latin dono ‘to give’

condone, 6 more

Today it means

verb To make a donation; to give away something of value to support or contribute towards a cause or for the benefit of another.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “donate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin dono. 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 *deh₃- / donate

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