Etymograph

English

improbate

Improbate comes from Latin improbātus ‘disapproved’, from probō ‘to approve, permit, commend’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-1‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*probʰHwós1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proβwos1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proβos1‘favourable’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proβāō1‘to approve’reconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprobō1‘to approve, permit, commend’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimprobō2‘to disapprove’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimprobātus2‘disapproved’perfect passive participle of improbō
  9. Englishtodayimprobate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin improbo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English improbate

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-Wiktionary, Latin improbo‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*probʰHwósWiktionary, Latin improboreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proβwosWiktionary, Latin improboreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proβosWiktionary, Latin improbo‘favourable’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*proβāōWiktionary, Latin improbo‘to approve’reconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprobōWiktionary, Latin improbo‘to approve, permit, commend’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimprobōWiktionary, English improbate‘to disapprove’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimprobātusWiktionary, English improbate‘disapproved’perfect passive participle of improbō
  9. EnglishtodayimprobateWiktionary, English improbate

first attested First attested in 1656 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1656; borrowed from Latin improbātus, perfect passive participle of improbō (‘to disapprove’) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from in- (‘not’) + probō (‘to approve’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’

be, been, power, possible, future, build, present, physical, essential, bond, presence, bush, bound, absence, contribution, physician, entity, booth, absent, favorable, contributor, distribute, bun, favourable, fiat, bouquet, retribution, attribution, rebuke, bower, aren, impossibility, imp, impotent, beamer, bosque, phylogeny, physic, phylum, busk, 81 more

through Proto-Italic *proβos ‘favourable’

probe, probity, 8 more

through Proto-Italic *proβāō ‘to approve’

approve, approbation, 11 more

through Latin probō ‘to approve, permit, commend’

prove, proof, probability, probable, probation, probative, 13 more

Today it means

verb To disallow, disqualify, or annul.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “improbate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin improbo. 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 *bʰuH- / improbate

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