Etymograph

English

inimic

Inimic comes from Latin inimīcus ‘unfriendly, hostile, inimical’, from amīcus ‘friend’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃emh₃- ‘to grab, to grasp, to seize, to take hold,…’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃emh₃-1‘to grab, to grasp, to seize, to take hold, tackle, touch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*amāō1‘to get hold of’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamō1‘to love’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamīcus1‘friend’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinimīcus2‘unfriendly, hostile, inimical’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1906inimic2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin inimicus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English inimic
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, Thomas Hardy, The Dynasts: “DUMB SHOW: The French are seen descending into the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃emh₃-Wiktionary, Latin inimicus‘to grab, to grasp, to seize, to take hold, tackle, touch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*amāōWiktionary, Latin inimicus‘to get hold of’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamōWiktionary, Latin inimicus‘to love’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamīcusWiktionary, Latin inimicus‘friend’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinimīcusWiktionary, English inimic‘unfriendly, hostile, inimical’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1906inimicWiktionary, English inimic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, Thomas Hardy, The Dynasts: “DUMB SHOW: The French are seen descending into the…”

Linked words

through Latin amō ‘to love’

amour, amenity, 20 more

through Latin amīcus ‘friend’

amity, amiable, amigo, amicable, 5 more

through Latin inimīcus ‘unfriendly, hostile, inimical’

enemy, enmity, 3 more

Today it means

adj Inimical.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “inimic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin inimicus. 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 *h₃emh₃- / inimic

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