English
exploitation
Exploitation comes from French exploiter ‘exploit’, from Latin explicō ‘unfold, deploy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-1‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō1‘to fold’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicō2‘unfold, deploy’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentexploiter2‘exploit’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentexploitation2
- Englishearliest quotation 1928exploitation2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin explico
- 2 Wiktionary, English exploitation
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1928, Canada. Dept. of Trade and Commerce: “This territory continued to be the greatest field for…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-Wiktionary, Latin explico‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicōWiktionary, Latin explico‘to fold’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicōWiktionary, English exploitation‘unfold, deploy’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentexploiterWiktionary, English exploitation‘exploit’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentexploitationWiktionary, English exploitation
- Englishearliest quotation 1928exploitationWiktionary, English exploitation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1928, Canada. Dept. of Trade and Commerce: “This territory continued to be the greatest field for…”
Equivalent to exploit + -ation
Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’
Latin plicō ‘to fold’
Latin explicō ‘to unfold’
Latin explicātus ‘unfolded, unfurled, uncoiled, loosened,…’
Old French esploit ‘income’
English exploit
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’
complex, fiasco, flax, flack, replication, plexus, flagon, 34 more
through Latin plicō ‘to fold’
apply, display, reply, employment, imply, employ, replica, deploy, implicit, accomplice, complicate, ply, ploy, complicity, complication, supple, implicate, pliable, triplicate, pliant, supplication, splay, 22 more
through Latin explicō ‘unfold, deploy’
Today it means
noun The act of utilizing something; industry.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “exploitation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin explico. 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- / exploitation