English
figment
Figment comes from Late Latin figmentum ‘anything made, a fiction’, from fingō ‘make, form, feign’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to mold’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-1‘to mold’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fingō1‘to knead, form’reconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEfingō2‘make, form, feign’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEfigmentum2‘anything made, a fiction’
- Englishearliest quotation 1989figment2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin fingo
- 2 Wiktionary, English figment
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, R. McNeill Alexander: “He had not seen sarcomeres: these segments were a…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-Wiktionary, Latin fingo‘to mold’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fingōWiktionary, Latin fingo‘to knead, form’reconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEfingōWiktionary, English figment‘make, form, feign’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEfigmentumWiktionary, English figment‘anything made, a fiction’
- Englishearliest quotation 1989figmentWiktionary, English figment. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, R. McNeill Alexander: “He had not seen sarcomeres: these segments were a…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to mold’
lady, figure, paradise, dairy, dough, faint, dey, 25 more
through Proto-Italic *fingō ‘to knead, form’
through Late Latin fingō ‘make, form, feign’
Today it means
noun A fabrication, fantasy, invention; something fictitious.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “figment”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin fingo. 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 *dʰeyǵʰ- / figment