English
erode
Erode comes from French éroder ‘to erode’, from Latin ērōdō ‘to gnaw away’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreh₃d-1‘to scrape, scratch, gnaw’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErōdō1‘to gnaw, nibble, bite’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEērōdō2‘to gnaw away’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentéroder2‘to erode’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025erode2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin erodo
- 2 Wiktionary, English erode
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2025, Rachel Konrad and Matt Abrahams, Why Young People Are Struggling to Communicate: “We've been worried about adolescents' diminishing writing and speaking…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreh₃d-Wiktionary, Latin erodo‘to scrape, scratch, gnaw’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErōdōWiktionary, Latin erodo‘to gnaw, nibble, bite’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEērōdōWiktionary, English erode‘to gnaw away’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentéroderWiktionary, English erode‘to erode’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025erodeWiktionary, English erode. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2025, Rachel Konrad and Matt Abrahams, Why Young People Are Struggling to Communicate: “We've been worried about adolescents' diminishing writing and speaking…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- ‘to scrape, scratch, gnaw’
through Latin rōdō ‘to gnaw, nibble, bite’
corrosion, rodent, rostrum, rostral, corrode, 5 more
through Latin ērōdō ‘to gnaw away’
Today it means
verb To wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “erode”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin erodo. 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 *Hreh₃d- / erode