Etymograph

English

invaginate

Invaginate comes from Medieval Latin invāgīnāre, from vāgīna ‘sheath’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wag-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wag-1‘sheath, cover’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wāgīnā1‘sheath, scabbard’reconstructed
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500vāgīna2‘sheath’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500invāgīnāre2
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500invāgīnātus2past participle of invāgīnāre
  6. Englishtodayinvaginate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin vagina
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English invaginate

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wag-Wiktionary, Latin vagina‘sheath, cover’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wāgīnāWiktionary, Latin vagina‘sheath, scabbard’reconstructed
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500vāgīnaWiktionary, English invaginate‘sheath’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500invāgīnāreWiktionary, English invaginate
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500invāgīnātusWiktionary, English invaginatepast participle of invāgīnāre
  6. EnglishtodayinvaginateWiktionary, English invaginate

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *wāgīnā ‘sheath, scabbard’

vaginal, 4 more

through Medieval Latin vāgīna ‘sheath’

vanilla, vagina, 5 more

Today it means

adj sheathed

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “invaginate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin vagina. 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 *wag- / invaginate

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