Etymograph

English

explication

Explication comes from Latin explicatio ‘an explanation, explication, exposition’, from plicō ‘to fold’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-1‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō1‘to fold’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicō2‘to explain’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicatio3as explicātiō‘an explanation, explication, exposition’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600explication3
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1991explication3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin explico
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin explicatio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English explication
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, Caroline Foty, It's The End Of The Year As We Know It: “Her anthemic "Who Stands For Life" is a powerful…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-Wiktionary, Latin explico‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicōWiktionary, Latin explico‘to fold’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicōWiktionary, Latin explicatio‘to explain’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicatioWiktionary, English explicationas explicātiō‘an explanation, explication, exposition’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600explicationWiktionary, English explication
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1991explicationWiktionary, English explication. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, Caroline Foty, It's The End Of The Year As We Know It: “Her anthemic "Who Stands For Life" is a powerful…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’

complex, fiasco, flax, flack, plexus, replication, flagon, 34 more

through Latin plicō ‘to fold’

apply, display, employment, reply, employ, imply, deploy, replica, exploitation, ploy, implicit, ply, accomplice, supple, complicity, complicate, complication, pliable, implicate, splay, pliant, triplicate, supplication, 22 more

through Latin explicō ‘to explain’

exploit, inexplicable, 9 more

Today it means

noun The act of opening or unfolding.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “explication”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin explico, Latin explicatio. 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 *pleḱ- / explication

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