Etymograph

English

intimate

Intimate comes from Latin intimō ‘to put or bring into, to impress, to make…’, from intimus ‘inmost, innermost, most intimate’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁én1‘in’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*en1‘in’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin2‘in, at’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintus3‘within’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimus3‘inmost, innermost, most intimate’superlative of intus
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimō4‘to put or bring into, to impress, to make familiar’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimātus4perfect passive participle of intimō
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1920intimate4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin in
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin intus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin intimo
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English intimate
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1920, Cicero, London: G. Bell and Sons: “WE are such intimate friends that more than almost…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁énWiktionary, Latin in‘in’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*enWiktionary, Latin in‘in’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinWiktionary, Latin intus‘in, at’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintusWiktionary, Latin intimo‘within’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimusWiktionary, Latin intimo‘inmost, innermost, most intimate’superlative of intus
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimōWiktionary, English intimate‘to put or bring into, to impress, to make familiar’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimātusWiktionary, English intimateperfect passive participle of intimō
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1920intimateWiktionary, English intimate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1920, Cicero, London: G. Bell and Sons: “WE are such intimate friends that more than almost…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

in, entrance, internal, indigenous, intern, 36 more

through Proto-Italic *en ‘in’

impulse, incense, incubation, 12 more

through Latin in ‘in, at’

encounter, ensemble, 9 more

through Latin intus ‘within’

intestine, 2 more

Another origin of intimate

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintimātus
  2. Englishtodayintimate

Today it means

adj Closely acquainted; familiar.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “intimate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin in, Latin intus, Latin intimo. 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 *h₁én / intimate

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