Etymograph

English

exhort

Exhort comes from Latin exhortārī ‘to encourage’, from hortor ‘to incite, spur’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- ‘to yearn for’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰer-1‘to yearn for’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhortor1‘to incite, spur’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexhortārī1‘to encourage’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400exhorter1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500exorten1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611exhort1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English exhort
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And with many other words did hee testifie and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰer-Wiktionary, English exhort‘to yearn for’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhortorWiktionary, English exhort‘to incite, spur’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexhortārīWiktionary, English exhort‘to encourage’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400exhorterWiktionary, English exhort
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500exortenWiktionary, English exhort
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611exhortWiktionary, English exhort. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And with many other words did hee testifie and…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- ‘to yearn for’

grand, grill, greedy, charismatic, grit, growl, grime, yearn, chromatic, grout, yar, grisly, ochre, grist, grimace, 17 more

Today it means

verb To urge; to advise earnestly.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “exhort”. 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 *gʰer- / exhort

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