Etymograph

English

impatient

Impatient 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. Old Frenchc. 842–1400impacient4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1590impatient4

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 impatient
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I, Canto VIII: “Dismayed with so defperate deadly wound, And eke impatient…”.

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 impatient‘that cannot bear’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400impacientWiktionary, English impatient
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1590impatientWiktionary, English impatient. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I, Canto VIII: “Dismayed with so defperate deadly wound, And eke impatient…”

Linked words

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

passive, passionate, fend, repent, penance, penitentiary, fiend, penitent, penitence, 10 more

through Proto-Italic *patos

compassion, 4 more

through Latin patior ‘suffer, experience, wait’

passion, compatible, compatibility, 8 more

through Latin patiēns ‘suffering, patient’

patience, 2 more

Today it means

adj Restless, short of temper, and intolerant of delays.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “impatient”; 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- / impatient

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