Etymograph

English

neglection

Neglection comes from Latin neglectiō ‘neglect’, from lego ‘to collect, gather, bring together, catch’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-1‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElego1‘to collect, gather, bring together, catch’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglegō2‘neglect’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglectus2perfect passive participle of neglegō
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglectiō2‘neglect’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglectiōnem2accusative singular of neglectiō
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1602neglection2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin neglego
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English neglection
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida: “And this neglection of degree it is That by…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-Wiktionary, Latin neglego‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to speak by carefully selecting one's words’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léǵetiWiktionary, Latin neglegoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*legōWiktionary, Latin neglegoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegoWiktionary, Latin neglego‘to collect, gather, bring together, catch’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglegōWiktionary, English neglection‘neglect’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglectusWiktionary, English neglectionperfect passive participle of neglegō
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglectiōWiktionary, English neglection‘neglect’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneglectiōnemWiktionary, English neglectionaccusative singular of neglectiō
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1602neglectionWiktionary, English neglection. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida: “And this neglection of degree it is That by…”

Formed from neglect + -ion

Latin neglegō ‘to make light of, disregard, not to pick up’

Latin neglēctus

Middle English neglect

English neglect

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning…’

technology, logic, apology, catalogue, collect, trilogy, analogy, terminology, sociology, pathology, logos, physiology, astrology, prologue, pathologist, epilogue, monologue, archaeologist, leach, eulogy, cosmology, logistic, etymology, epistemology, lexical, entomology, lexicon, homologous, gynecologist, lignite, lignin, apologia, alexia, etiology, lexis, dialectical, dialectic, syllogism, bacteriology, bacteriologist, 148 more

through Proto-Italic *legō

intelligence, intelligent, intellectual, selection, ineligible, elector, legionnaire, legionella, legionary, 15 more

through Latin lego ‘to collect, gather, bring together, catch’

college, elite, election, collection, eligible, lesson, legend, legacy, select, colleague, collective, coil, lecture, elegant, collector, elect, delegate, delegation, diligent, legion, collegiate, cull, legible, legate, collegium, ineligibility, lectern, legation, lector, 23 more

through Latin neglegō ‘neglect’

negligence, negligent, negligible, 1 more

Today it means

noun neglect

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “neglection”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin neglego. 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 *leǵ- / neglection

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