Etymograph

English

igneous

Igneous comes from Latin igneus ‘fiery’, from ignis ‘fire’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁engʷ- ‘to burn’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁engʷ-1‘to burn’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁n̥gʷnís2‘fire’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEignis3‘fire’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEigneus4‘fiery’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1835igneous4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥gʷnís
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin ignis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin igneus
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English igneous
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1835, Charles Lyell, London: John Murray: “All formations, whether igneous or aqueous, which can be…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁engʷ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥gʷnís‘to burn’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁n̥gʷnísWiktionary, Latin ignis‘fire’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEignisWiktionary, Latin igneus‘fire’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEigneusWiktionary, English igneous‘fiery’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1835igneousWiktionary, English igneous. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1835, Charles Lyell, London: John Murray: “All formations, whether igneous or aqueous, which can be…”

Equivalent to ignis + -eous

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁engʷ- ‘to burn’

ingle, wonga, 5 more

through Latin ignis ‘fire’

ignition, ignite, 5 more

Today it means

adj Pertaining to or having the nature of fire; containing fire; resembling fire.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “igneous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥gʷnís, Latin ignis, Latin igneus. 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 *h₁engʷ- / igneous

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