Etymograph

English

remain

Remain comes from Old French remanoir, from Latin remaneō ‘to stay behind’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to stay’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-1‘to stay’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaneō2‘to stay, remain’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEremaneō1‘to remain, stay behind’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400remanoir1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500remainen1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611remain1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English remain
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin remaneo
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Gather up the fragments that remain.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-Wiktionary, English remain‘to stay’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaneōWiktionary, Latin remaneo‘to stay, remain’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEremaneōWiktionary, English remain‘to remain, stay behind’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400remanoirWiktionary, English remain
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500remainenWiktionary, English remain
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611remainWiktionary, English remain. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Gather up the fragments that remain.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to stay’

money, music, amount, mind, comment, mental, mouth, mention, museum, monster, auto, mount, monitor, monetary, min, mentor, monk, demonstration, monument, monte, monastery, amnesty, mint, muse, maya, dementia, summon, menace, imminent, mont, muster, monstrous, prominence, amnesia, mosaic, mantra, ming, mania, eminent, mandarin, 115 more

through Latin maneō ‘to stay, remain’

permanent, mas, menagerie, menial, permanence, manet, permanency, 7 more

through Latin remaneō ‘to remain or stay behind’

remnant, 2 more

Today it means

noun That which is left; relic; remainder.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “remain”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin remaneo. 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 *men- / remain

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