English
extispicious
Extispicious comes from Latin extispicium ‘extispicy’, from extispex ‘diviner of entrails’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut, cut off, sever’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-1‘to cut, cut off, sever’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékh₁yeti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekaō1‘to cut’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecō1‘to cut’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsecō2‘to cut out’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexta3‘entrails’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEextispex4‘diviner of entrails’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEextispicium5‘extispicy’
- Englishearliest quotation 1650extispicious5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin exseco
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin exta
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin extispex
- 4 Wiktionary, Latin extispicium
- 5 Wiktionary, English extispicious
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1650, Thomas Browne, A Further Illustration: “Thus hath he deluded many Nations in his Auguriall…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-Wiktionary, Latin exseco‘to cut, cut off, sever’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin exsecoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekaōWiktionary, Latin exseco‘to cut’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecōWiktionary, Latin exseco‘to cut’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsecōWiktionary, Latin exta‘to cut out’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEextaWiktionary, Latin extispex‘entrails’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEextispexWiktionary, Latin extispicium‘diviner of entrails’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEextispiciumWiktionary, English extispicious‘extispicy’
- Englishearliest quotation 1650extispiciousWiktionary, English extispicious. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1650, Thomas Browne, A Further Illustration: “Thus hath he deluded many Nations in his Auguriall…”
Formed from ous
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut, cut off, sever’
saw, design, sign, ship, seal, sack, scarlet, sawyer, sax, shingle, scythe, sich, sedge, sigil, sain, desiccant, desiccation, 58 more
through Proto-Italic *sekaō ‘to cut’
sexuality, homosexual, dissection, 17 more
through Latin secō ‘to cut’
sex, risk, section, sexual, segment, insect, het, sickle, dissect, seg, brassica, 20 more
Today it means
adj Pertaining to divination by examining entrails.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “extispicious”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin exseco, Latin exta, Latin extispex, Latin extispicium. 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 *sek- / extispicious