Etymograph

English

perpetuate

Perpetuate comes from Latin perpetuātus ‘perpetuated’, from petō ‘to ask, beg, request, look for, inquire,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to spread out’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-1‘to spread out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂eti1‘to fly’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetō1‘to ask, beg, request, look for, inquire, petition, entreat’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpetuus1‘perpetual, continuous’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpetuō2‘to cause to continue uninterruptedly, to proceed with continually, to make perpetual’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpetuātus2‘perpetuated’perfect passive participle of perpetuō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1530perpetuate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin perpetuo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English perpetuate
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1530, John Palsgrave: “I am contented to contynue it for my tyme,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-Wiktionary, Latin perpetuo‘to spread out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂etiWiktionary, Latin perpetuo‘to fly’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetōWiktionary, Latin perpetuo‘to ask, beg, request, look for, inquire, petition, entreat’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpetuusWiktionary, Latin perpetuo‘perpetual, continuous’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpetuōWiktionary, English perpetuate‘to cause to continue uninterruptedly, to proceed with continually, to make perpetual’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpetuātusWiktionary, English perpetuate‘perpetuated’perfect passive participle of perpetuō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1530perpetuateWiktionary, English perpetuate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1530, John Palsgrave: “I am contented to contynue it for my tyme,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to spread out’

pass, mile, expansion, expand, pen, helicopter, patent, symptom, spawn, feather, expanse, pennant, pinion, patina, pata, patella, penna, 83 more

through Proto-Indo-European *péth₂eti ‘to fly’

competent, repetition, 15 more

through Latin petō ‘to ask, beg, request, look for, inquire,…’

repeat, petition, compete, competitor, impetus, petulant, impetuous, petulance, 17 more

Today it means

verb To make (something) perpetual; to make (something) continue for an indefinite time; also, to preserve (something) from extinction or oblivion.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “perpetuate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin perpetuo. 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 *peth₂- / perpetuate

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