Etymograph

English

extol

Extol comes from Latin extollō ‘elevate, raise high’, from Proto-Italic *tolnō ‘to lift, carry’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- ‘to bear, to undergo, to endure’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*telh₂-1‘to bear, to undergo, to endure’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tl̥néh₂ti ~ *tl̥nh₂énti1reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tolnō1‘to lift, carry’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtollō1‘to raise, lift up, elevate’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEextollō2‘elevate, raise high’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611extol2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin extollo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English extol
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*telh₂-Wiktionary, Latin extollo‘to bear, to undergo, to endure’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tl̥néh₂ti ~ *tl̥nh₂éntiWiktionary, Latin extolloreconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tolnōWiktionary, Latin extollo‘to lift, carry’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtollōWiktionary, Latin extollo‘to raise, lift up, elevate’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEextollōWiktionary, English extol‘elevate, raise high’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611extolWiktionary, English extol. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- ‘to bear, to undergo, to endure’

talent, atlas, tolerance, tolerate, tolerant, intolerable, tolerable, toleration, tellurium, 17 more

through Latin tollō ‘to raise, lift up, elevate’

toll, 4 more

Today it means

verb To praise; to make high.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “extol”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin extollo. 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 *telh₂- / extol

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