Etymograph

English

exfoliation

Exfoliation comes from Latin exfoliō ‘to strip of leaves’, from folium ‘a leaf’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰelh₁- ‘to well forth, spring forth’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰelh₁-1‘to well forth, spring forth’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰolh₁yom1uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*foljom1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfolium1‘a leaf’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexfoliō2as exfoliare‘to strip of leaves’
  6. Englishtodayexfoliation2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin exfolio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English exfoliation

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰelh₁-Wiktionary, Latin exfolio‘to well forth, spring forth’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰolh₁yomWiktionary, Latin exfoliouncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*foljomWiktionary, Latin exfolioreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfoliumWiktionary, Latin exfolio‘a leaf’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexfoliōWiktionary, English exfoliationas exfoliare‘to strip of leaves’
  6. EnglishtodayexfoliationWiktionary, English exfoliation

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰelh₁- ‘to well forth, spring forth’

lue, thallium, thallus, 6 more

through Latin folium ‘a leaf’

foil, folio, folic, 22 more

Today it means

noun The scaling off of a bone, a rock, or a mineral, etc.; the state of being exfoliated.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “exfoliation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin exfolio. 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 *dʰelh₁- / exfoliation

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