Etymograph

English

inaugural

Inaugural comes from French inaugurer ‘to inaugurate’, from Latin augurō ‘to take omens’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwgos ‘to increase, to enlarge’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éwgos1‘to increase, to enlarge’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*augos ~ *augezos1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaugur2‘augur, soothsayer’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaugurō3as augurare‘to take omens’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentinaugurer3‘to inaugurate’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentinaugural3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2008inaugural3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin augur
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin auguro
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English inaugural
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Cape Times: “The University of Cape Town hosts an inaugural lecture…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éwgosWiktionary, Latin augur‘to increase, to enlarge’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*augos ~ *augezosWiktionary, Latin augurreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaugurWiktionary, Latin auguro‘augur, soothsayer’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaugurōWiktionary, English inauguralas augurare‘to take omens’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentinaugurerWiktionary, English inaugural‘to inaugurate’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentinauguralWiktionary, English inaugural
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2008inauguralWiktionary, English inaugural. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Cape Times: “The University of Cape Town hosts an inaugural lecture…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwgos ‘to increase, to enlarge’

august, 6 more

through Latin augur ‘augur, soothsayer’

augur, 6 more

Today it means

adj Of inauguration; as in a speech or lecture by the person being inaugurated.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “inaugural”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin augur, Latin auguro. 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 *h₂éwgos / inaugural

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