Etymograph

English

incrustation

Incrustation comes from Latin incrustātiō ‘encrustation’, from crustō ‘to cover with a rind, shell, incrustation,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krews-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krews-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krustós1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krustos1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrusta1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrustō1‘to cover with a rind, shell, incrustation, plaster-work, embossed figures, etc’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincrustō2‘to encrust’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincrustātiō3‘encrustation’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1838incrustation3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin incrusto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin incrustatio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English incrustation
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Keeping up Appearances. […]: “Her reception of her brother was most affectionate—there are…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krews-Wiktionary, Latin incrustoreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krustósWiktionary, Latin incrustoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krustosWiktionary, Latin incrustoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrustaWiktionary, Latin incrusto
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrustōWiktionary, Latin incrusto‘to cover with a rind, shell, incrustation, plaster-work, embossed figures, etc’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincrustōWiktionary, Latin incrustatio‘to encrust’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincrustātiōWiktionary, English incrustation‘encrustation’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1838incrustationWiktionary, English incrustation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Keeping up Appearances. […]: “Her reception of her brother was most affectionate—there are…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *krews-

crystalline, cryopreservation, 5 more

through Proto-Italic *krustos

crusty, 4 more

through Latin crusta

crust, 5 more

Today it means

noun The act of incrusting, or the state of being incrusted.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “incrustation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin incrusto, Latin incrustatio. 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 *krews- / incrustation

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