Etymograph

English

putrescent

Putrescent comes from Latin pūtrēscēns ‘rotting’, from pūtrēscō ‘rot’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *puH- ‘rotten, foul’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*puH-1‘rotten, foul’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEputer1‘rotten, crumbling’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEputreō1‘to be rotten or putrid’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūtrēscō2‘rot’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūtrēscēns2‘rotting’present participle of pūtrēscō
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1791putrescent2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin putresco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English putrescent
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1791, George Fordyce, A treatise on the digestion of food: “When it is combined with that quantity of water…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*puH-Wiktionary, Latin putresco‘rotten, foul’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEputerWiktionary, Latin putresco‘rotten, crumbling’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEputreōWiktionary, Latin putresco‘to be rotten or putrid’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūtrēscōWiktionary, English putrescent‘rot’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpūtrēscēnsWiktionary, English putrescent‘rotting’present participle of pūtrēscō
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1791putrescentWiktionary, English putrescent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1791, George Fordyce, A treatise on the digestion of food: “When it is combined with that quantity of water…”

The story

Attested since circa 1730, from Latin pūtrēscēns (‘rotting’), present participle of pūtrēscō (‘rot’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *puH- ‘rotten, foul’

file, foul, filth, pus, 12 more

through Latin putreō ‘to be rotten or putrid’

putrid, 2 more

Today it means

adj Becoming putrid; putrefying.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “putrescent”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin putresco. 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 *puH- / putrescent

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