English
implement
Implement comes from Late Latin implēmentum ‘a filling up’, from Latin impleō ‘to fill up’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₁-1‘to fill’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plēō1‘to fill’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpleō1‘Combining form used to form prefixed verbs with the approximate meaning "to fill"’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpleō2‘to fill up’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEimplēmentum2‘a filling up’
- Englishearliest quotation 1900implement2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin impleo
- 2 Wiktionary, English implement
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1900, Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams: Avon Books: “A man dreamt as follows: He saw two boys…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₁-Wiktionary, Latin impleo‘to fill’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plēōWiktionary, Latin impleo‘to fill’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpleōWiktionary, Latin impleo‘Combining form used to form prefixed verbs with the approximate meaning "to fill"’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpleōWiktionary, English implement‘to fill up’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEimplēmentumWiktionary, English implement‘a filling up’
- Englishearliest quotation 1900implementWiktionary, English implement. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1900, Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams: Avon Books: “A man dreamt as follows: He saw two boys…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’
public, full, plus, fill, complete, poll, popularity, plain, folk, plenty, comply, plural, ample, amplitude, plethora, puri, amplify, replenish, plenary, volk, plenum, plebs, plebeian, fulsome, 72 more
through Proto-Italic *plēō ‘to fill’
people, popular, publication, publican, 14 more
through Latin pleō ‘Combining form used to form prefixed verbs…’
supply, manipulation, completion, accomplish, supplement, depletion, complement, replete, deplete, 10 more
Today it means
verb To bring about; to put into practice; to carry out.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “implement”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin impleo. 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 *pleh₁- / implement