Etymograph

English

innovator

Innovator comes from Late Latin innovō ‘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. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEinnovō2‘to renew, restore’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEinnovātor2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2011innovator2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin innovo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English innovator
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2011, Maria Winckler, Apache Hadoop takes top prize at Media Guardian Innovation A: “Described by the judging panel as a "Swiss army…”.

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. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEinnovōWiktionary, English innovator‘to renew, restore’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEinnovātorWiktionary, English innovator
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2011innovatorWiktionary, English innovator. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2011, Maria Winckler, Apache Hadoop takes top prize at Media Guardian Innovation A: “Described by the judging panel as a "Swiss army…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’

noo, telenovela, 13 more

through Proto-Indo-European *néwos ‘new’

new, newly, novel, newer, neon, nova, novice, nuevo, newness, novitiate, 13 more

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

renovation, renovate, novation, 3 more

Today it means

noun Someone who innovates; a creator of new ideas.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “innovator”; 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 / innovator

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