Etymograph

English

fusion

Fusion comes from Latin fūsiōnem, from fusus ‘poured out, having been poured out, shed,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-1‘to pour’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundō1‘to pour out’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundō2‘to pour’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfusus2‘poured out, having been poured out, shed, having been shed’past participle of fundō
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūsiōnem2
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fusion2
  8. Englishearliest quotation a. 1728fusion2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin fundo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English fusion
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1728, Isaac Newton, A Treatise of the Reflections: “This Cryſtal is a pellucid fiſſile Stone, clear as…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-Wiktionary, Latin fundo‘to pour’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédtiWiktionary, Latin fundoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundōWiktionary, Latin fundo‘to pour out’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundōWiktionary, English fusion‘to pour’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfususWiktionary, English fusion‘poured out, having been poured out, shed, having been shed’past participle of fundō
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūsiōnemWiktionary, English fusion
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fusionWiktionary, English fusion
  8. Englishearliest quotation a. 1728fusionWiktionary, English fusion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1728, Isaac Newton, A Treatise of the Reflections: “This Cryſtal is a pellucid fiſſile Stone, clear as…”

The story

First appears c. 1555, in a translation by Richard Eden.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’

yet, gut, refuse, font, effusive, 45 more

through Proto-Italic *hundō ‘to pour out’

confused, foundry, fondue, 41 more

through Latin fundō ‘to pour’

foundation, founder, fundamental, refund, funnel, confuse, diffuse, confound, infuse, 47 more

through Latin fusus ‘poured out, having been poured out, shed,…’

fuse, fusarium, fusiform, 7 more

Today it means

noun The act of merging separate things, or the result thereof.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fusion”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin fundo. 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 *ǵʰewd- / fusion

Shirt and support for this word