Etymograph

English

endue

Endue comes from Middle English induen ‘to clothe (someone)’, from Latin induō ‘to put on’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ew-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ew-1‘to put clothes or shoes on’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*uō1‘to put on’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinduō1‘to put on’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinduere1next step skipped: Old French enduirepresent active infinitive of induō
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500induen1‘to clothe (someone)’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512endue1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English endue
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood: “Her mete was very crude, / She had not…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ew-Wiktionary, English endue‘to put clothes or shoes on’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*uōWiktionary, English endue‘to put on’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinduōWiktionary, English endue‘to put on’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinduereWiktionary, English enduenext step skipped: Old French enduirepresent active infinitive of induō
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500induenWiktionary, English endue‘to clothe (someone)’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512endueWiktionary, English endue. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood: “Her mete was very crude, / She had not…”

The story

Sense 2 is from a combination of the above.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ew-

Today it means

verb Of a person or thing: to take on (a different form); to adopt, to assume.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “endue”. 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 *h₃ew- / endue

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