Etymograph

English

elicit

Elicit comes from Latin elicitus ‘enticed, elicited, coaxed’, from eliciō ‘draw forth’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *lakjō.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*lakjō1‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElaciō2‘to entice, ensnare’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeliciō3‘draw forth’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEelicitus3‘enticed, elicited, coaxed’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1660elicit3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin lacio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin elicio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English elicit
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1660, Jeremy Taylor, Ductor Dubitantium: “An elicit act of equity.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*lakjōWiktionary, Latin lacio‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElaciōWiktionary, Latin elicio‘to entice, ensnare’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeliciōWiktionary, English elicit‘draw forth’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEelicitusWiktionary, English elicit‘enticed, elicited, coaxed’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1660elicitWiktionary, English elicit. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1660, Jeremy Taylor, Ductor Dubitantium: “An elicit act of equity.”

Linked words

through Latin laciō ‘to entice, ensnare’

delicious, delight, delicate, 8 more

Today it means

verb To evoke, educe (emotions, feelings, responses, etc.); to generate, obtain, or provoke as a response or answer.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “elicit”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin lacio, Latin elicio. 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-Italic *lakjō / elicit

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