Etymograph

English

eccentricate

Eccentricate comes from Medieval Latin eccentricus, from Ancient Greek ἔκκεντρος ‘not having the earth as centre, eccentric’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱen-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱen-1uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱéntrom1‘pointed tool’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kéntron1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκέντρον1kéntron‘something with a sharp point: point, spike, spur’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔκκεντρος1ékkentros‘not having the earth as centre, eccentric’
  6. Medieval Latinmoderneccentricus1
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600excentrique1
  8. English1500–presenteccentric1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1783eccentricate1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English eccentricate
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1783, John Young, A Criticism on the Elegy: “Gray owes much to scowering, as does Virgil to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱen-Wiktionary, English eccentricateuncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱéntromWiktionary, English eccentricate‘pointed tool’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kéntronWiktionary, English eccentricatereconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκέντρονWiktionary, English eccentricatekéntron‘something with a sharp point: point, spike, spur’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔκκεντροςWiktionary, English eccentricateékkentros‘not having the earth as centre, eccentric’
  6. Medieval LatinmoderneccentricusWiktionary, English eccentricate
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600excentriqueWiktionary, English eccentricate
  8. English1500–presenteccentricWiktionary, English eccentricate
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1783eccentricateWiktionary, English eccentricate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1783, John Young, A Criticism on the Elegy: “Gray owes much to scowering, as does Virgil to…”

Linked words

through Proto-Hellenic *kéntron

concentric, centrale, 14 more

through Ancient Greek κέντρον ‘something with a sharp point: point, spike, spur’

center, central, centre, kendra, centric, alcantara, cento, centrum, 16 more

Today it means

verb To move to the periphery; to marginalize.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “eccentricate”. 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 *ḱen- / eccentricate

Shirt and support for this word