Etymograph

English

infuse

Infuse comes from Latin infusus ‘poured into or on’, from fundō ‘to pour out, shed’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-1‘to pour’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundō1‘to pour out’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundō1‘to pour out, shed’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinfundo2‘to pour in, into, on, upon, or down upon, forth, infuse’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinfusus2‘poured into or on’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infusen2
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592infuse2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin infundo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English infuse
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Infuse his breast with magnanimity.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-Wiktionary, Latin infundo‘to pour’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédtiWiktionary, Latin infundoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundōWiktionary, Latin infundo‘to pour out’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundōWiktionary, Latin infundo‘to pour out, shed’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinfundoWiktionary, English infuse‘to pour in, into, on, upon, or down upon, forth, infuse’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinfususWiktionary, English infuse‘poured into or on’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infusenWiktionary, English infuse
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592infuseWiktionary, English infuse. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Infuse his breast with magnanimity.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’

yet, gut, font, refuse, effusive, 41 more

through Proto-Italic *hundō ‘to pour out’

confused, foundry, diffusion, fondue, perfusion, profusion, effusion, 36 more

through Latin fundō ‘to pour out, shed’

foundation, founder, fundamental, refund, confusion, fusion, confuse, diffuse, confound, 46 more

through Latin infundo ‘to pour in, into, on, upon, or down upon,…’

funnel, 5 more

Today it means

verb To cause to become an element of something; to insert or fill.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “infuse”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin infundo. 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 *ǵʰewd- / infuse

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