Etymograph

English

impatiens

Impatiens comes from Latin impatiēns ‘that cannot bear’, from patiēns ‘suffering, patient’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- ‘to hurt’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₁-1‘to hurt’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ph₁-tós1uncertainparticiple of *peh₁-
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*patos1uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpatior2‘suffer, experience, wait’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpatiēns3‘suffering, patient’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpatiēns4‘that cannot bear’
  7. mulmodernImpatiens4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2008impatiens4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin patior
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin patiens
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin impatiens
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English impatiens
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Susan Stewart, Cartoon Creatures Leave Home and Find ... Home: “A pot of impatiens blooms by the back door;…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₁-Wiktionary, Latin patior‘to hurt’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ph₁-tósWiktionary, Latin patioruncertainparticiple of *peh₁-
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*patosWiktionary, Latin patioruncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpatiorWiktionary, Latin patiens‘suffer, experience, wait’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpatiēnsWiktionary, Latin impatiens‘suffering, patient’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpatiēnsWiktionary, English impatiens‘that cannot bear’
  7. mulmodernImpatiensWiktionary, English impatiens
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2008impatiensWiktionary, English impatiens. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Susan Stewart, Cartoon Creatures Leave Home and Find ... Home: “A pot of impatiens blooms by the back door;…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- ‘to hurt’

passive, passionate, repent, fend, penance, penitentiary, fiend, penitent, penitence, 9 more

through Proto-Italic *patos

compassion, 3 more

through Latin patior ‘suffer, experience, wait’

passion, compatible, compatibility, 7 more

through Latin patiēns ‘suffering, patient’

patient, patience, 1 more

Today it means

noun Any of various ornamental plants of the genus Impatiens.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “impatiens”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin patior, Latin patiens, Latin impatiens. 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 *peh₁- / impatiens

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