Etymograph

English

nihilate

Nihilate comes from Latin nihilō ‘to reduce to nothing’, from hīlum ‘the least bit’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo- ‘sinew’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-1‘sinew’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fī(s)lom1uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīlum2‘thread’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhīlum3‘the least bit’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnihil4‘nothing’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnihilō5‘to reduce to nothing’
  7. Englishtodaynihilate5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin filum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin hilum
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin nihil
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Latin nihilo
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English nihilate

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷʰiH-(s-)lo-Wiktionary, Latin filum‘sinew’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fī(s)lomWiktionary, Latin filumuncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīlumWiktionary, Latin hilum‘thread’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhīlumWiktionary, Latin nihil‘the least bit’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnihilWiktionary, Latin nihilo‘nothing’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnihilōWiktionary, English nihilate‘to reduce to nothing’
  7. EnglishtodaynihilateWiktionary, English nihilate

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *fī(s)lom

defile, filamentous, 44 more

through Latin fīlum ‘thread’

file, fillet, filament, 47 more

through Latin nihil ‘nothing’

annihilation, 8 more

Today it means

verb To annul.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nihilate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin filum, Latin hilum, Latin nihil, Latin nihilo. 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 *gʷʰiH-(s-)lo- / nihilate

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