English
infusion
Infusion comes from Latin infusio ‘a pouring into, a wetting, a dyeing, a flow’, from fundō ‘to pour out, shed’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-1‘to pour’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundō1‘to pour out’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundō1‘to pour out, shed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinfundo2‘to pour in, into, on, upon, or down upon, forth, infuse’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinfusio2‘a pouring into, a wetting, a dyeing, a flow’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400infusion2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infusioun2
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602infusion2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin infundo
- 2 Wiktionary, English infusion
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “[...] but in the verity of extolment / I…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-Wiktionary, Latin infundo‘to pour’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédtiWiktionary, Latin infundoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundōWiktionary, Latin infundo‘to pour out’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundōWiktionary, Latin infundo‘to pour out, shed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinfundoWiktionary, English infusion‘to pour in, into, on, upon, or down upon, forth, infuse’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinfusioWiktionary, English infusion‘a pouring into, a wetting, a dyeing, a flow’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400infusionWiktionary, English infusion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500infusiounWiktionary, English infusion
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602infusionWiktionary, English infusion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “[...] but in the verity of extolment / I…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’
yet, gut, refuse, font, fuse, effusive, 41 more
through Proto-Italic *hundō ‘to pour out’
confused, foundry, fondue, 37 more
through Latin fundō ‘to pour out, shed’
foundation, founder, fundamental, refund, confusion, confuse, diffuse, diffusion, confound, perfusion, profusion, effusion, 43 more
through Latin infundo ‘to pour in, into, on, upon, or down upon,…’
Today it means
noun A product consisting of a liquid which has had other ingredients steeped in it to extract useful qualities.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “infusion”; 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- / infusion