English
project
Project comes from Latin prōiectus ‘discharged, scattered’, from prōiciō ‘throw forth, extend’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yeh₁-1‘to throw’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yéh₁kt ~ *(H)ih₁ként1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiaciō1‘throw’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōiciō2‘throw forth’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōiectus2‘discharged’perfect passive participle of prōiciō
- Englishearliest quotation 1596project2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin proicio
- 2 Wiktionary, English project
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto I: “Before his feet her selfe she did proiect”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yeh₁-Wiktionary, Latin proicio‘to throw’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yéh₁kt ~ *(H)ih₁kéntWiktionary, Latin proicioreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiaciōWiktionary, Latin proicio‘throw’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōiciōWiktionary, English project‘throw forth’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōiectusWiktionary, English project‘discharged’perfect passive participle of prōiciō
- Englishearliest quotation 1596projectWiktionary, English project. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto I: “Before his feet her selfe she did proiect”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with project, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- ‘to throw’
through Proto-Indo-European *(H)yéh₁kt ~ *(H)ih₁ként
113 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun A planned endeavor, usually with a specific goal and accomplished in several steps or stages.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “project”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin proicio. 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 *(H)yeh₁- / project