Etymograph

English

liquate

Liquate comes from Latin liquātus ‘melted’, from liquō ‘to melt’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wleykʷ- ‘to flow, run, moisten’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wleykʷ-1‘to flow, run, moisten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wlikʷéh₁yeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*(w)likʷēō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEliqueō2‘to be liquid’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEliquō3‘to melt’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEliquātus3‘melted’perfect passive participle of liquō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1728liquate3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin liqueo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin liquo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English liquate
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1728, John Woodward, London: […] F[rancis] Fayram: “'[T]is known how eaſily the Bodies, and even the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wleykʷ-Wiktionary, Latin liqueo‘to flow, run, moisten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wlikʷéh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin liqueoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*(w)likʷēōWiktionary, Latin liqueoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEliqueōWiktionary, Latin liquo‘to be liquid’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEliquōWiktionary, English liquate‘to melt’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEliquātusWiktionary, English liquate‘melted’perfect passive participle of liquō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1728liquateWiktionary, English liquate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1728, John Woodward, London: […] F[rancis] Fayram: “'[T]is known how eaſily the Bodies, and even the…”

first attested First attested in 1669 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1669; borrowed from Latin liquātus, perfect passive participle of liquō (‘to melt’), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wleykʷ- ‘to flow, run, moisten’

liquidate, 8 more

through Proto-Italic *(w)likʷēō

liquidity, liquidation, 5 more

through Latin liqueō ‘to be liquid’

liquid, 7 more

Today it means

verb To separate by fusion, as a more fusible from a less fusible material.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “liquate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin liqueo, Latin liquo. 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 *wleykʷ- / liquate

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