Etymograph

English

incarnation

Incarnation comes from Late Latin incarnō ‘to be made flesh’, from Proto-Italic *karō ‘piece, portion’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker(H)-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker(H)-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kér(H)ō1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karō1‘piece, portion’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarō1‘flesh’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEincarnō2as incarnari‘to be made flesh’
  6. Ecclesiastical Latinc. 200–1500incarnatio2
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400incarnacion2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500incarnacion2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1815incarnation2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin incarno
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English incarnation
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1815, Francis Jeffrey: “She is a new incarnation of some of the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker(H)-Wiktionary, Latin incarnoreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kér(H)ōWiktionary, Latin incarnoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karōWiktionary, Latin incarno‘piece, portion’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarōWiktionary, Latin incarno‘flesh’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEincarnōWiktionary, English incarnationas incarnari‘to be made flesh’
  6. Ecclesiastical Latinc. 200–1500incarnatioWiktionary, English incarnation
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400incarnacionWiktionary, English incarnation
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500incarnacionWiktionary, English incarnation
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1815incarnationWiktionary, English incarnation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1815, Francis Jeffrey: “She is a new incarnation of some of the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *karō ‘piece, portion’

carnitas, 15 more

through Latin carō ‘flesh’

card, carnage, carnivorous, carnal, carnivore, carrion, 14 more

Today it means

noun An incarnate being or form.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “incarnation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin incarno. 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 *(s)ker(H)- / incarnation

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