Etymograph

English

instrument

Instrument comes from Latin īnstrūmentum ‘an implement, tool’, from īnstruō ‘build, construct’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to spread, strew’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-1‘to spread, strew’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréweti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strowō1‘to pile up’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstruō1‘to place one thing on top of another, to pile up, join together’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstruō1‘build, construct’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstrūmentum2‘an implement, tool’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400instrument2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500instrument2‘a device used to produce music’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1568instrument2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin instrumentum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English instrument
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1568, William Cornishe [i.e., William Cornysh]: “The Harpe. […] A harper with his wreſt maye…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-Wiktionary, Latin instrumentum‘to spread, strew’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréwetiWiktionary, Latin instrumentumreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strowōWiktionary, Latin instrumentum‘to pile up’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstruōWiktionary, Latin instrumentum‘to place one thing on top of another, to pile up, join together’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstruōWiktionary, Latin instrumentum‘build, construct’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnstrūmentumWiktionary, English instrument‘an implement, tool’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400instrumentWiktionary, English instrument
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500instrumentWiktionary, English instrument‘a device used to produce music’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1568instrumentWiktionary, English instrument. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1568, William Cornishe [i.e., William Cornysh]: “The Harpe. […] A harper with his wreſt maye…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to spread, strew’

strain, straw, stray, constructive, obstruction, obstruct, perestroika, stripling, misconstrue, 9 more

through Proto-Italic *strowō ‘to pile up’

destroyer, 3 more

through Latin struō ‘to place one thing on top of another, to pile…’

construction, structure, destroy, destruction, destructive, construct, construe, 5 more

through Latin īnstruō ‘build, construct’

instructor, 1 more

Today it means

noun A device used to produce music.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “instrument”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin instrumentum. 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 *strew- / instrument

Shirt and support for this word