English
junta
Junta comes from Spanish junta ‘joint, gasket’, from Latin iunctus ‘joined, having been joined’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yunégti ~ *yungénti.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yunégti ~ *yungénti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jungō1‘to join’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiungō2‘join’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiunctus2‘joined, having been joined’perfect passive participle of iungō
- Spanishc. 1500–presentjunta2‘joint, gasket’
- Englishtodayjunta2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin iungo
- 2 Wiktionary, English junta
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yunégti ~ *yungéntiWiktionary, Latin iungoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jungōWiktionary, Latin iungo‘to join’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiungōWiktionary, English junta‘join’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiunctusWiktionary, English junta‘joined, having been joined’perfect passive participle of iungō
- Spanishc. 1500–presentjuntaWiktionary, English junta‘joint, gasket’
- EnglishtodayjuntaWiktionary, English junta
The story
Borrowed from Spanish junta (literally "a thing gathered or joined"), feminine form of junto, from Latin iunctus, perfect passive participle of iungō (‘join’). Attested from 1623.
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *jungō ‘to join’
adjoining, joiner, disjoint, enjoin, adjoint, disjunction, 9 more
through Latin iungō ‘join’
join, conjunction, junction, adjunct, juxtaposition, juncture, jostle, subjunctive, conjunct, 15 more
through Latin iunctus ‘joined, having been joined’
Today it means
noun The committee of military officers that have usurped political control.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “junta”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin iungo. 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 *yunégti ~ *yungénti / junta