Etymograph

English

effume

Effume comes from Latin effumare ‘to emit smoke’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewh₂-1‘smoke’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰuh₂mós1‘smoke’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θūmos1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fūmos1‘smoke’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfumus2‘smoke’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfumare2‘to smoke’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeffumare2‘to emit smoke’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1599effume2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin fumus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English effume
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, B. I. [i.e.: “I can make this dog take as many whiffes…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewh₂-Wiktionary, Latin fumus‘smoke’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰuh₂mósWiktionary, Latin fumus‘smoke’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θūmosWiktionary, Latin fumusreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fūmosWiktionary, Latin fumus‘smoke’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfumusWiktionary, English effume‘smoke’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfumareWiktionary, English effume‘to smoke’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeffumareWiktionary, English effume‘to emit smoke’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1599effumeWiktionary, English effume. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, B. I. [i.e.: “I can make this dog take as many whiffes…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- ‘smoke’

down, steam, dye, dew, dun, dune, duvet, dag, thymus, typhon, obfuscate, 27 more

through Latin fumus ‘smoke’

funk, fumigation, 14 more

Today it means

verb To breathe or puff out.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “effume”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin fumus. 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 *dʰewh₂- / effume

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