Etymograph

English

fideicommissum

Fideicommissum comes from Latin fidei ‘trust’, from committō ‘give, entrust’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘change’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-1‘change’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meyth₂-1‘exchange, remove’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmītō1by way of Proto-Italic *meitōuncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō2‘to send’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommittō2‘give, entrust’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfidei2‘trust’
  7. Englishtodayfideicommissum2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin mitto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English fideicommissum

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-Wiktionary, Latin mitto‘change’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meyth₂-Wiktionary, Latin mitto‘exchange, remove’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmītōWiktionary, Latin mittoby way of Proto-Italic *meitōuncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittōWiktionary, English fideicommissum‘to send’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommittōWiktionary, English fideicommissum‘give, entrust’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfideiWiktionary, English fideicommissum‘trust’
  7. EnglishtodayfideicommissumWiktionary, English fideicommissum

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘change’

mean, met, community, minute, common, minister, meal, minor, ministry, communication, menu, min, mutual, mere, immune, communist, minus, ammunition, immunity, communicate, compromise, mole, municipality, mural, mayhem, noodle, moor, communism, ammo, communal, remuneration, communion, mite, commune, monolith, minstrel, mitra, mitre, munition, mitosis, 68 more

through Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- ‘exchange, remove’

message, miss, mad, mute, mutant, madden, mutate, transmutation, mutable, molt, misnomer, moult, commutative, commutation, 14 more

through Latin mittō ‘to send’

mission, admit, mess, missile, premise, transmit, dismiss, intermittent, emit, amit, omit, permissive, remiss, missive, commissariat, 31 more

through Latin committō ‘give, entrust’

committee, commission, commit, commissary, commissar, 6 more

Today it means

noun A benefit bequeathed to a beneficiary who inherits the benefit, subject to the obligation of bequeathing it to another.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fideicommissum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin mitto. 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 *mey- / fideicommissum

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