Etymograph

English

ergative

Ergative comes from Ancient Greek ἐργᾰ́της ‘labourer, worker’, from ἔργον ‘work’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- ‘to make’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-1‘to make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wérǵom2‘work’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*wérgon2‘work’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔργον3‘work’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐργᾰ́της4ergắtēs‘labourer, worker’root of ἔργον
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1971ergative4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔργον
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐργάτης
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English ergative
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1971, John Mathieson Anderson, Locative: “Unlike those with subjectivized ergatives, such locative clauses naturally…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom‘to make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wérǵomWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔργον‘work’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*wérgonWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔργον‘work’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔργονWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐργάτης‘work’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐργᾰ́τηςWiktionary, English ergativeergắtēs‘labourer, worker’root of ἔργον
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1971ergativeWiktionary, English ergative. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1971, John Mathieson Anderson, Locative: “Unlike those with subjectivized ergatives, such locative clauses naturally…”

The story

From Ancient Greek ἐργᾰ́της (ergắtēs, “labourer, worker”) + English -ive (suffix meaning ‘belong or relating to; of the nature of; serving to; tending to’ forming adjectives).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- ‘to make’

working, wright, organic, organ, boulevard, wrought, orgasm, liturgy, metallurgy, bulwark, irk, irksome, wark, 20 more

through Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom ‘work’

work, werk, 13 more

through Ancient Greek ἔργον ‘work’

energy, allergy, energetic, argon, erg, 13 more

Today it means

adj With the subject of a transitive construction having grammatical cases or thematic relations different from those of an intransitive construction.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ergative”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom, Ancient Greek ἔργον, Ancient Greek ἐργάτης. 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 *werǵ- / ergative

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