Etymograph

English

palpitation

Palpitation comes from Latin palpitatio ‘a frequent and rapid motion, trembling,…’, 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 CEpalpitō3‘throb, pulsate, palpitate’frequentative of palpō
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalpitatio4‘a frequent and rapid motion, trembling, throbbing, pulsating, palpitation, quivering’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600palpitation4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1816palpitation4

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 palpitatio
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English palpitation
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1816, – 1817 April/May, The Modern Prometheus. […]: “Sometimes my pulse beat so quickly and hardly, that…”.

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 palpitatio‘touch softly, stroke, pat’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalpitōWiktionary, Latin palpitatio‘throb, pulsate, palpitate’frequentative of palpō
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalpitatioWiktionary, English palpitation‘a frequent and rapid motion, trembling, throbbing, pulsating, palpitation, quivering’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600palpitationWiktionary, English palpitation
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1816palpitationWiktionary, English palpitation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1816, – 1817 April/May, The Modern Prometheus. […]: “Sometimes my pulse beat so quickly and hardly, that…”

Linked words

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

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

noun An abnormal beating of the heart that may be perceived by the patient, a result of excitement, exertion, or illness.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “palpitation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πάλλω, Latin palpo, Latin palpitatio. 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- / palpitation

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