Etymograph

English

purum

Purum comes from Latin pure ‘clear’, from pūrus ‘clean’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewH-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewH-1‘to cleanse, purify’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pūros1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūrus2‘clean’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpure3‘clear’
  5. Englishtodaypurum3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin purus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin pure
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English purum

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewH-Wiktionary, Latin purus‘to cleanse, purify’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pūrosWiktionary, Latin purusreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūrusWiktionary, Latin pure‘clean’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpureWiktionary, English purum‘clear’
  5. EnglishtodaypurumWiktionary, English purum

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pewH- ‘to cleanse, purify’

reputation, deputy, pity, pious, piety, putative, expiation, puro, 13 more

through Proto-Italic *pūros

impure, puree, impurity, 5 more

through Latin pūrus ‘clean’

pure, pour, purity, purification, purify, purist, 8 more

Today it means

adj A commercial grade of a chemical compound that is greater than about 95% pure

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “purum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin purus, Latin pure. 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 *pewH- / purum

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