Etymograph

English

palpitate

Palpitate comes from Latin palpitō ‘to move frequently and quickly, tremble,…’, from palpō ‘touch softly, stroke, pat’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- ‘to drive, swing, shake’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-1‘to drive, swing, shake’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl̥-n-h₁-yé-ti1uncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπάλλω2pállō‘swing, shake, shake loose’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalpō3‘touch softly, stroke, pat’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalpitō4‘to move frequently and quickly, tremble, throb, pulsate, palpitate’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1749palpitate4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πάλλω, which cites Beekes
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin palpo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin palpito
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English palpitate
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1749, John Cleland, (Please specify the letter or volume): “I was now so bruised, so batter'd, so spent…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πάλλω, which cites Beekes‘to drive, swing, shake’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl̥-n-h₁-yé-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek πάλλω, which cites Beekesuncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπάλλωWiktionary, Latin palpopállō‘swing, shake, shake loose’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalpōWiktionary, Latin palpito‘touch softly, stroke, pat’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalpitōWiktionary, English palpitate‘to move frequently and quickly, tremble, throb, pulsate, palpitate’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1749palpitateWiktionary, English palpitate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1749, John Cleland, (Please specify the letter or volume): “I was now so bruised, so batter'd, so spent…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pel- ‘to drive, swing, shake’

film, felt, simple, simply, push, powder, complain, filter, fold, pulse, pillow, repeal, flaw, pollen, compulsive, expel, repel, propel, pelt, peloton, wallow, palate, pall, palatable, tuple, muffle, apoplexy, peplum, pulver, pollinate, pillion, interpolate, palatal, 63 more

through Ancient Greek πάλλω ‘swing, shake, shake loose’

palladium, polemic, 11 more

through Latin palpō ‘touch softly, stroke, pat’

palpable, 8 more

Today it means

verb To beat strongly or rapidly; said especially of the heart.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “palpitate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πάλλω, Latin palpo, Latin palpito. 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 *pel- / palpitate

Shirt and support for this word