Etymograph

English

redemptor

Redemptor comes from Latin redēmptor ‘redeemer’, from emō ‘to buy, purchase’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁em- ‘to take’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁em-1‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁émeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*emō1‘to take’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEemō1‘to buy, purchase’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEredimō1‘to buy back, repurchase, redeem’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEredēmptor2‘redeemer’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400redemptor2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500redemptor2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1512redemptor2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin redemptor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English redemptor
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1512, The History of Helyas, A Collection of Early Prose Romances; III): “Ryght swet lady and sacred mayden mother of the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁em-Wiktionary, Latin redemptor‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁émetiWiktionary, Latin redemptorreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*emōWiktionary, Latin redemptor‘to take’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEemōWiktionary, Latin redemptor‘to buy, purchase’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEredimōWiktionary, Latin redemptor‘to buy back, repurchase, redeem’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEredēmptorWiktionary, English redemptor‘redeemer’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400redemptorWiktionary, English redemptor
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500redemptorWiktionary, English redemptor
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1512redemptorWiktionary, English redemptor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1512, The History of Helyas, A Collection of Early Prose Romances; III): “Ryght swet lady and sacred mayden mother of the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁em- ‘to take’

exempt, pommel, pomade, 55 more

through Proto-Italic *emō ‘to take’

assume, presume, sumptuous, 46 more

through Latin emō ‘to buy, purchase’

consumer, premium, resume, consume, assumption, exemption, consumable, overconsumption, preemption, 41 more

through Latin redimō ‘to buy back, repurchase, redeem’

ransom, redeem, 2 more

Today it means

noun One who redeems (especially used of Jesus).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “redemptor”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin redemptor. 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 *h₁em- / redemptor

Shirt and support for this word