Etymograph

English

publication

Publication comes from Middle English publicacioun, from Old French publicacion, from Latin pūblicātiō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūblicātiō1‘publication; confiscation’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400publicacion1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500publicacioun1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1651–1653publication1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English publication
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1651–1653, Jeremy Taylor, London: […] Richard Royston […]: “His jealousy ... attends the business, the recreations, the…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūblicātiōWiktionary, English publication‘publication; confiscation’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400publicacionWiktionary, English publication
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500publicaciounWiktionary, English publication
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1651–1653publicationWiktionary, English publication. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1651–1653, Jeremy Taylor, London: […] Richard Royston […]: “His jealousy ... attends the business, the recreations, the…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with publication, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’

  • full ← ful ← *fullaz ← *pl̥h₁nós
  • complete ← compleet ← complet
  • plus ← plous ← *plēōs ← *pléh₁yōs
  • plenty ← plentie ← plenté ← plenté ← plēnitātem
  • fill ← fillen ← fyllan ← *fullijan ← *fullijaną
  • plain ← pleyn ← plein ← plēnus ← *plēnos
  • poll ← πολλοί ← *polh₁ús
  • folk ← folc ← *fulką ← *pl̥h₁-gós
  • comply ← complire ← complēre ← compleō ← *ḱóm
  • ample ← amplus ← ambiplus ← plēnus ← *plēnos
  • plural ← plurelle ← plurel ← plūs ← plūs
  • plethora ← πληθώρα ← πλήθω ← *plḗtʰō

116 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun The act of publishing printed or other matter.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “publication”. 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 / Latin pūblicātiō / publication