Etymograph

English

inhibition

Inhibition comes from Latin inhibitio ‘restraint’, from habeō ‘to have, hold’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- ‘to grab, take’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰeh₁bʰ-1‘to grab, take’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰh₁bʰéh₁yeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*haβēō1‘to have, hold’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhabeō1‘to have, hold’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinhibeō1‘to lay hold of, keep back, restrain, curb, check, stop’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinhibitio2‘restraint’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400inibicion2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500inhibicioun2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1961inhibition2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin inhibitio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English inhibition
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs: “Often the guests, affected by the wine drinking, released…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰeh₁bʰ-Wiktionary, Latin inhibitio‘to grab, take’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰh₁bʰéh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin inhibitioreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*haβēōWiktionary, Latin inhibitio‘to have, hold’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhabeōWiktionary, Latin inhibitio‘to have, hold’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinhibeōWiktionary, Latin inhibitio‘to lay hold of, keep back, restrain, curb, check, stop’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinhibitioWiktionary, English inhibition‘restraint’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400inibicionWiktionary, English inhibition
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500inhibiciounWiktionary, English inhibition
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1961inhibitionWiktionary, English inhibition. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs: “Often the guests, affected by the wine drinking, released…”

Formed from inhibit + -ion

Latin habeō ‘to have, hold, keep’

Latin inhibeō ‘to hold in, check, restrain’

Latin inhibitus ‘restrained, inhibited’

English inhibit

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- ‘to grab, take’

doubt, habitat, endeavor, dubious, prohibition, gab, javelin, prohibitive, aver, 24 more

through Proto-Italic *haβēō ‘to have, hold’

habitual, 11 more

through Latin habeō ‘to have, hold’

able, due, average, ability, habit, exhibition, debit, prohibit, haver, debenture, habilitation, 23 more

Today it means

noun The act of inhibiting.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “inhibition”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin inhibitio. 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 *gʰeh₁bʰ- / inhibition

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