Etymograph

English

innovation

Innovation comes from Latin innovo ‘to renew, restore’, from Proto-Indo-European *néwos ‘new’, and ultimately from *nu ‘now’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nu1‘now’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwos1‘new’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néweh₂ti1‘to renew’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nowāō1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnovō1‘to make new, renew, refresh’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinnovo2as innovo‘to renew, restore’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEinnovatio2
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400innovacion2
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600innovation2
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1814innovation2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin innovo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English innovation
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1814, Walter Scott, Hurst: “The others, whose time had been more actively employed,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nuWiktionary, Latin innovo‘now’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwosWiktionary, Latin innovo‘new’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néweh₂tiWiktionary, Latin innovo‘to renew’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nowāōWiktionary, Latin innovoreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnovōWiktionary, Latin innovo‘to make new, renew, refresh’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinnovoWiktionary, English innovationas innovo‘to renew, restore’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEinnovatioWiktionary, English innovation
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400innovacionWiktionary, English innovation
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600innovationWiktionary, English innovation
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1814innovationWiktionary, English innovation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1814, Walter Scott, Hurst: “The others, whose time had been more actively employed,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’

noo, telenovela, 14 more

through Proto-Indo-European *néwos ‘new’

new, newly, novel, newer, neon, nova, novice, nuevo, newness, novitiate, 14 more

through Latin novō ‘to make new, renew, refresh’

renovation, renovate, 4 more

Today it means

noun The act of innovating; the introduction of something new, in customs, rites, etc.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “innovation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin innovo. 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 *nu / innovation

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