Etymograph

English

infect

Infect comes from Latin infectus, from inficiō ‘dye, taint’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjō1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjō1‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciō1‘to perform, do’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinficiō2‘dye, taint’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinfectus2perfect passive participle of inficiō
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600infect2
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1602infect2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin inficio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English infect
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida: “And in the imitation of these twain, / Who,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-Wiktionary, Latin inficioreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyétiWiktionary, Latin inficioreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjōWiktionary, Latin inficioreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjōWiktionary, Latin inficio‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciōWiktionary, Latin inficio‘to perform, do’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinficiōWiktionary, English infect‘dye, taint’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinfectusWiktionary, English infectperfect passive participle of inficiō
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600infectWiktionary, English infect
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1602infectWiktionary, English infect. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida: “And in the imitation of these twain, / Who,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *θakjō

affectionate, imperfection, putrefaction, 63 more

through Proto-Italic *fakjō ‘to make’

factor, difficulty, effectively, interface, manufacture, effectiveness, faction, perfection, affection, facet, ineffective, imperfect, affective, defection, deface, defector, effector, affectation, confectionary, 66 more

through Latin faciō ‘to perform, do’

face, fact, difficult, profit, feature, facility, perfect, efficient, effective, faculty, affair, effect, sacrifice, facial, deficit, facilitate, affect, feat, efficacy, superficial, facade, fetish, deficient, counterfeit, facsimile, defect, hacienda, maleficent, aficionado, efficacious, beautify, parfait, facies, difficile, beneficent, confit, confection, refectory, 85 more

Today it means

verb To bring (the body or part of it) into contact with a substance that causes illness (a pathogen), so that the pathogen begins to act on the body; (of a pathogen) to come into contact with (a body or body part) and begin to act on it.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “infect”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin inficio. 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 *dʰeh₁k- / infect

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