Etymograph

English

imminent

Imminent comes from Latin imminēre ‘to overhang’, from mineō ‘to jut, project’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to stand out’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-1‘to stand out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mn̥éh₁yeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meneō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmineō2‘to jut, project’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimminēre2‘to overhang’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1927imminent2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin mineo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English imminent
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1927, Whitney v. California:: “To courageous, self-reliant men, with confidence in the power…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-Wiktionary, Latin mineo‘to stand out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mn̥éh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin mineoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meneōWiktionary, Latin mineoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmineōWiktionary, English imminent‘to jut, project’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimminēreWiktionary, English imminent‘to overhang’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1927imminentWiktionary, English imminent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1927, Whitney v. California:: “To courageous, self-reliant men, with confidence in the power…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to stand out’

music, money, amount, mind, mouth, museum, remain, monster, auto, mental, mountain, monitor, mention, comment, permanent, demonstration, monk, monetary, min, maya, monastery, muse, mosaic, monument, mentor, mas, monte, amnesty, mania, muster, dementia, monstrous, summon, mandarin, menace, manic, mantra, mont, mint, amnesia, 121 more

through Latin mineō ‘to jut, project’

mount, prominence

Today it means

adj About to happen, occur, or take place very soon, especially of something which won't last long.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “imminent”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin mineo. 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 *men- / imminent

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