Etymograph

English

protrude

Protrude comes from Latin prōtrūdō ‘to push or thrust forwards’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *trewd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*trewd-1‘to push, thrust’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pro-1‘forward’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pro-2reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōtrūdō1‘to push or thrust forwards’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōtrūdere1present active infinitive of prōtrūdō
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1646protrude1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English protrude
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin pro-
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1646, Thomas Browne, Of the Right and Left Hand: “[…] Palſies do oftneſt happen upon the left ſide…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*trewd-Wiktionary, English protrude‘to push, thrust’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pro-Wiktionary, English protrude‘forward’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pro-Wiktionary, Latin pro-reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōtrūdōWiktionary, English protrude‘to push or thrust forwards’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōtrūdereWiktionary, English protrudepresent active infinitive of prōtrūdō
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1646protrudeWiktionary, English protrude. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1646, Thomas Browne, Of the Right and Left Hand: “[…] Palſies do oftneſt happen upon the left ſide…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *trewd- ‘to push, thrust’

threat, thrust, extrusion, intrude, abstruse, 11 more

through Proto-Indo-European *pro- ‘forward’

from, approach, fret, 7 more

through Proto-Italic *pro-

property, purchase, improper, propriety, 6 more

Today it means

verb To cause (something) to extend above, beyond, or from a boundary or surface; to cause (something) to project or stick out.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “protrude”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin pro-. 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 *trewd- / protrude

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