Etymograph

English

incommode

Incommode comes from French incommoder ‘to bother, disconcert, incommode’, from Latin incommodō ‘to inconvenience’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-1‘to measure’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommodō1‘to accommodate, adapt’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincommodō1‘to inconvenience’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincommodāre1present active infinitive of incommodō
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentincommoder1‘to bother, disconcert, incommode’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1673incommode1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English incommode
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1673, John Scott: “[T]heir Minds are ſo tender and effeminate, that they…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-Wiktionary, English incommode‘to measure’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommodōWiktionary, English incommode‘to accommodate, adapt’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincommodōWiktionary, English incommode‘to inconvenience’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincommodāreWiktionary, English incommodepresent active infinitive of incommodō
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentincommoderWiktionary, English incommode‘to bother, disconcert, incommode’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1673incommodeWiktionary, English incommode. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1673, John Scott: “[T]heir Minds are ſo tender and effeminate, that they…”

The story

Learned borrowing from French incommoder (‘to bother, disconcert, incommode’), from Latin incommodāre, the present active infinitive of incommodō (‘to inconvenience’), from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + commodō (‘to accommodate, adapt; to bestow, provide; to hire, lend’) (from com- (a variant of con- (prefix indicating completeness or intensification)) + modō (the ablative or singular of modus (‘manner, method, way; bound, limit; measure’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (‘to measure’))). The English word is analysable as in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + commode (‘(archaic or obsolete) to provide (someone or something) with an appropriate, suitable, or necessary thing; to meet the requirements of (someone or something), suit; to repair (something)’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure’

must, medical, medicine, model, modern, medication, mud, mood, meditation, med, remedy, moderate, mold, module, modification, modest, blackmail, medic, meditate, mould, modulation, moderator, modal, modus, modulate, mote, mete, modulus, modicum, modifiable, modulo, 28 more

Today it means

verb To make (someone) uncomfortable; to discomfort, to disturb, to trouble.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “incommode”. 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 *med- / incommode

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