Etymograph

English

perfusive

Perfusive comes from Latin perfūsus ‘perfused, suffused, soaked, overspread,…’, from perfundō ‘to pour (liquid) over or through’, 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 out, shed’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperfundō1‘to pour (liquid) over or through’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperfūsus1‘perfused, suffused, soaked, overspread, coated, wet’
  7. English1500–presentperfuse1
  8. Englishtodayperfusive1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English perfusive

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-Wiktionary, English perfusive‘to pour’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédtiWiktionary, English perfusivereconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundōWiktionary, English perfusive‘to pour out’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundōWiktionary, English perfusive‘to pour out, shed’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperfundōWiktionary, English perfusive‘to pour (liquid) over or through’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperfūsusWiktionary, English perfusive‘perfused, suffused, soaked, overspread, coated, wet’
  7. English1500–presentperfuseWiktionary, English perfusive
  8. EnglishtodayperfusiveWiktionary, English perfusive

A compound of perfuse + -ive

Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’

…

Proto-Italic *hundō ‘to pour out’

Latin fundō ‘to pour’

Latin perfundō ‘to pour over, besprinkle’

Latin perfūsus ‘perfused, suffused, soaked, overspread,…’

English perfuse

Linked words

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

yet, refuse, gut, font, fuse, effusive, 39 more

through Proto-Italic *hundō ‘to pour out’

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

through Latin fundō ‘to pour out, shed’

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

Today it means

adj Tending to flow over, or to spread through.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “perfusive”. 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- / perfusive

Shirt and support for this word