English
instigate
Instigate comes from Latin īnstīgātus ‘stimulated, set on, incited, roused or urged’, from īnstīgō ‘to instigate’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- ‘to be sharp’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teyg-1‘to be sharp’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstīgō2‘to instigate’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstīgātus2‘stimulated, set on, incited, roused or urged’perfect passive participle of īnstīgō
- Englishearliest quotation 1678instigate2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin instigo
- 2 Wiktionary, English instigate
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1678, Robert Barclay: “he might instigate them to swear against the law…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teyg-Wiktionary, Latin instigo‘to be sharp’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstīgōWiktionary, English instigate‘to instigate’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstīgātusWiktionary, English instigate‘stimulated, set on, incited, roused or urged’perfect passive participle of īnstīgō
- Englishearliest quotation 1678instigateWiktionary, English instigate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1678, Robert Barclay: “he might instigate them to swear against the law…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- ‘to be sharp’
style, attack, stock, stick, tiger, stitch, stigma, etiquette, detach, stylus, stiletto, tigress, 9 more
Today it means
verb To bring about by urging or encouraging.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “instigate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin instigo. 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 *(s)teyg- / instigate