English
operate
Operate comes from Latin operātus ‘having worked, laboured, toiled’, from opus ‘work, labor, accomplishment’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-1‘to work’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃épos1‘work’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opos1‘work’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopus1‘work’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopera1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperātus1‘having worked’
- Englishearliest quotation 1706operate1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English operate
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1706, Francis Atterbury: “The Virtues of private Perſons, how Bright and Exemplary…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-Wiktionary, English operate‘to work’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃éposWiktionary, English operate‘work’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oposWiktionary, English operate‘work’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopusWiktionary, English operate‘work’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperaWiktionary, English operate
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperātusWiktionary, English operate‘having worked’
- Englishearliest quotation 1706operateWiktionary, English operate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1706, Francis Atterbury: “The Virtues of private Perſons, how Bright and Exemplary…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with operate, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’
- office ← officium ← opificium ← opifex ← ops
- official ← officiālis ← officium ← ops ← *opis
- bus ← omnibus ← omnibus ← omnibus ← omnis
- copy ← copie ← copia ← cōps ← ops
- omnibus ← (voiture) omnibus ← omnis ← *opnis
- copious ← copiosus ← copia ← cōps ← ops
- opulence ← opulentia ← opulentus ← ops ← *opis
- officiate ← officiātus ← officior ← officium ← ops
- omnivore ← omnivorus ← omnis ← *opnis
- officiant ← officiāns ← officiāre ← officium ← ops
- officious ← offycyous ← officiōsus ← officium ← ops
through Latin opus ‘work, labor, accomplishment’
60 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
verb To perform a work or labour; to exert power or strength, physical or mechanical; to act.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “operate”. 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 *h₃ep- / operate