Etymograph

English

perfuse

Perfuse comes from Latin perfūsus ‘perfused, suffused, soaked, overspread,…’, from perfundō ‘to pour over, besprinkle’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-1‘to pour’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundō1‘to pour out’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundō1‘to pour’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperfundō1‘to pour over, besprinkle’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperfūsus1‘perfused, suffused, soaked, overspread, coated, wet’past participle of perfundō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1985perfuse1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English perfuse
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1985, William de Ruhe et al., 14: Release of Arginine Vasopressin from the Brain: “When AVP was perfused into punctate regions in the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-Wiktionary, English perfuse‘to pour’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédtiWiktionary, English perfusereconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundōWiktionary, English perfuse‘to pour out’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundōWiktionary, English perfuse‘to pour’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperfundōWiktionary, English perfuse‘to pour over, besprinkle’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperfūsusWiktionary, English perfuse‘perfused, suffused, soaked, overspread, coated, wet’past participle of perfundō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1985perfuseWiktionary, English perfuse. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1985, William de Ruhe et al., 14: Release of Arginine Vasopressin from the Brain: “When AVP was perfused into punctate regions in the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’

yet, gut, font, refuse, effusive, 40 more

through Proto-Italic *hundō ‘to pour out’

confused, foundry, diffusion, infusion, fondue, profusion, effusion, 35 more

through Latin fundō ‘to pour’

foundation, founder, fundamental, confusion, refund, fusion, funnel, confuse, diffuse, confound, infuse, 45 more

Today it means

verb To permeate or suffuse something, especially with a liquid or with light.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “perfuse”. 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 *ǵʰewd- / perfuse

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