Etymograph

English

excommunication

Excommunication comes from Latin excommūnicō ‘to excommunicate’, from commūnicō ‘to impart, share’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to attach, bind, strengthen’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-1‘to attach, bind, strengthen’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱom-moy-ni-s1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kommoinis1‘common’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEcomoinis1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnis1
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnicō1‘to impart, share’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcommūnicō1‘to excommunicate’
  8. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEexcommūnicātiō2
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500excommunicacion2
  10. Englishtodayexcommunication2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin excommunicatio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English excommunication

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-Wiktionary, Latin excommunicatio‘to attach, bind, strengthen’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱom-moy-ni-sWiktionary, Latin excommunicatioreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kommoinisWiktionary, Latin excommunicatio‘common’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEcomoinisWiktionary, Latin excommunicatio
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnisWiktionary, Latin excommunicatio
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommūnicōWiktionary, Latin excommunicatio‘to impart, share’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcommūnicōWiktionary, Latin excommunicatio‘to excommunicate’
  8. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEexcommūnicātiōWiktionary, English excommunication
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500excommunicacionWiktionary, English excommunication
  10. EnglishtodayexcommunicationWiktionary, English excommunication

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to attach, bind, strengthen’

mean, met, minute, minister, minor, mess, ministry, meal, min, commission, menu, missile, mutual, mere, minus, commit, compromise, dismiss, premise, immune, mole, immunity, mayhem, noodle, intermittent, mural, moor, ammo, municipality, ammunition, mite, omit, minstrel, monolith, remuneration, mitra, mitre, mitosis, meiosis, missive, 66 more

through Proto-Italic *kommoinis ‘common’

commonly, 13 more

through Old Latin comoinis

communistic, 12 more

through Latin commūnis

common, community, communist, communicate, communism, communal, communion, 15 more

through Latin commūnicō ‘to impart, share’

commune, telecommunication, 2 more

Today it means

noun The act of excommunicating, disfellowshipping or ejecting; especially an ecclesiastical censure whereby the person against whom it is pronounced is, for the time, cast out of the communication of the church; exclusion from fellowship in things spiritual.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “excommunication”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin excommunicatio. 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 *mey- / excommunication

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