Etymograph

English

refund

Refund comes from Latin refundō ‘to pour back, pour out’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-1‘to pour’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundō1‘to pour out’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundō1‘to pour out, shed’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErefundō2as refundere‘to pour back, pour out’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400refondre2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500refunden2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1691refund2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin refundo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English refund
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1691, John Ray, London: […] Samuel Smith: “Were the humours of the eye tinctured with any…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-Wiktionary, Latin refundo‘to pour’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédtiWiktionary, Latin refundoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundōWiktionary, Latin refundo‘to pour out’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundōWiktionary, Latin refundo‘to pour out, shed’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErefundōWiktionary, English refundas refundere‘to pour back, pour out’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400refondreWiktionary, English refund
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500refundenWiktionary, English refund
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1691refundWiktionary, English refund. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1691, John Ray, London: […] Samuel Smith: “Were the humours of the eye tinctured with any…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’

yet, gut, font, refuse, fuse, effusive, 39 more

through Proto-Italic *hundō ‘to pour out’

confused, diffusion, infusion, foundry, perfusion, fondue, profusion, effusion, 35 more

through Latin fundō ‘to pour out, shed’

foundation, founder, confusion, fundamental, fusion, confuse, diffuse, funnel, infuse, confound, 46 more

Today it means

verb To return (money) to (someone); to reimburse.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “refund”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin refundo. 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 *ǵʰewd- / refund

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