Etymograph

English

invalidate

Invalidate comes from Middle French invalide, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-1root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600invalide1
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600invalider1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1978invalidate1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English invalidate
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “The multiplicity of moral opinions is an empirical fact…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-Wiktionary, English invalidateroot named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600invalideWiktionary, English invalidate
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600invaliderWiktionary, English invalidate
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1978invalidateWiktionary, English invalidate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “The multiplicity of moral opinions is an empirical fact…”

Equivalent to in- + validate

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

Proto-Germanic *in ‘into’

English in-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-

Medieval Latin validātus ‘to validate’

English validate

first attested First attested in 1649 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1649; borrowed from Middle French invalider, from invalide + -er.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-

wild, value, equivalent, wool, velvet, valid, avail, valuation, vale, wield, fluff, flannel, vail, cuckold, valiant, valour, velour, woll, lanolin, valorous, 43 more

Today it means

verb To make invalid (especially in to contract law)

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “invalidate”. 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 *h₂welh₁- / invalidate

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