English

explanation

Explanation comes, probably, from Latin explānātiō ‘explanation’, from explānō ‘to explain’; equivalent to explain + -ation.

Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplānō¹as explanare‘to explain’
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplānātiō¹‘explanation, interpretation’uncertain
Englishearliest quotation 1815explanation¹

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

¹ Wiktionary, English explanation
Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1815, Jane Austen, Emma: “This little explanation with Mr. Knightley gave Emma considerable…”.

Lineage

Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplānō1Wiktionary, English explanationas explanare‘to explain’
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplānātiō1Wiktionary, English explanation‘explanation, interpretation’uncertain
Englishearliest quotation 1815explanation1Wiktionary, English explanation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1815, Jane Austen, Emma: “This little explanation with Mr. Knightley gave Emma considerable…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with explanation, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- ‘flat’

field ← feld ← feld ← *felþu ← *felþuz
floor ← flōr ← *flōr ← *flōraz ← *pleh₂ros
palm ← palme ← palma ← *palamā ← *pl̥h₂meh₂
planet ← planete ← planete ← planeta ← πλανήτης
clan ← clann ← clann ← cland ← plant
archipelago ← arcipelago ← pelago ← pelagus ← πέλαγος
fluke ← flōc ← *flōk ← *flōką
parma ← parmula ← palmula ← palma ← *palamā
playa ← plagia ← plaga
placenta ← πλακόεντα ← πλακοῦς ← πλάξ ← *pləks
flounder ← flowndre ← floundre ← flondre ← flyðra
lech ← llech ← llech ← *llex ← *ɸlikkā

100 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 once I have a code

Explore everything descended from explānō →

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 once Wear this word, $32 Support the app

Today it means

noun The act or process of explaining.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “explanation”. 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 / Latin explānō / explanation