Etymograph

English

importuous

Importuous comes from Latin importuosus ‘lacking a harbour’, from Proto-Indo-European *pértus ‘crossing’, and ultimately from *per- ‘to fare’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘to fare’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pértus2‘crossing’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portus2‘harbour’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportus3‘harbour’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportuosus3‘abounding in harbours’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimportuosus3‘lacking a harbour’
  7. Englishtodayimportuous3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *pértus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin portus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English importuous

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *pértus‘to fare’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pértusWiktionary, Latin portus‘crossing’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portusWiktionary, Latin portus‘harbour’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportusWiktionary, English importuous‘harbour’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportuosusWiktionary, English importuous‘abounding in harbours’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimportuosusWiktionary, English importuous‘lacking a harbour’
  7. EnglishtodayimportuousWiktionary, English importuous

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to fare’

first, before, far, per, price, private, press, further, practice, support, fear, pre, report, appreciate, primary, prior, prime, prize, pregnant, practical, afford, praise, transport, interpretation, privilege, sport, parade, par, forth, precious, ferry, pirate, fare, importance, pardon, prix, export, primitive, interpreter, portable, 147 more

through Proto-Indo-European *pértus ‘crossing’

ford, firth, fjord, inopportune, 6 more

through Proto-Italic *portus ‘harbour’

opportunist, opportune, opportunism, 6 more

through Latin portus ‘harbour’

opportunity, port, 9 more

Today it means

adj Without a port or harbour.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “importuous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *pértus, Latin portus. 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 *per- / importuous

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