Etymograph

English

ingravescent

Ingravescent comes from Latin ingravēscō ‘to become heavy (or heavier)’, from ingravō ‘to weigh down’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- ‘heavy’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷreh₂-1‘heavy’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷréh₂us1‘heavy’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷraus1‘heavy’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgravis1‘heavy’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgravō2‘to burden, weigh down, oppress’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEingravō3‘to weigh down’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEingravēscō4as ingravēscent‘to become heavy (or heavier)’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1890ingravescent4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin gravo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin ingravo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin ingravesco
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English ingravescent
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1890, Transactions of the American Neurologica: “Cerebral hemorrhage, ingravescent in character, was diagnosticated and preparations…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷreh₂-Wiktionary, Latin gravo‘heavy’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷréh₂usWiktionary, Latin gravo‘heavy’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷrausWiktionary, Latin gravo‘heavy’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgravisWiktionary, Latin gravo‘heavy’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgravōWiktionary, Latin ingravo‘to burden, weigh down, oppress’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEingravōWiktionary, Latin ingravesco‘to weigh down’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEingravēscōWiktionary, English ingravescentas ingravēscent‘to become heavy (or heavier)’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1890ingravescentWiktionary, English ingravescent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1890, Transactions of the American Neurologica: “Cerebral hemorrhage, ingravescent in character, was diagnosticated and preparations…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- ‘heavy’

bar, guru, brigadier, gravitate, aggravation, brio, brigand, 16 more

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us ‘heavy’

brutal, brute, brut, barite, baryon, 14 more

through Latin gravis ‘heavy’

grief, gravity, grave, gravitation, gravitas, 10 more

through Latin gravō ‘to burden, weigh down, oppress’

grievous, grieve, grievance, aggravate, 7 more

Today it means

adj Increasing in severity.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ingravescent”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin gravo, Latin ingravo, Latin ingravesco. 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 *gʷreh₂- / ingravescent

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