Etymograph

English

remove

Remove comes from Anglo-Norman remover, from Old French removoir, from Latin removeō ‘to remove’, from re- + moveō ‘to move’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-1‘to move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweō1‘to move’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveō1‘to move’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEremoveō1‘to remove’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400removoir1‘to separate’
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400remover1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500removen1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1485remove1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English remove
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, vj: “THenne the kynge dyd doo calle syre Gawayne /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-Wiktionary, English remove‘to move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyetiWiktionary, English removereconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweōWiktionary, English remove‘to move’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveōWiktionary, English remove‘to move’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEremoveōWiktionary, English remove‘to remove’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400removoirWiktionary, English remove‘to separate’
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400removerWiktionary, English remove
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500removenWiktionary, English remove
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1485removeWiktionary, English remove. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, vj: “THenne the kynge dyd doo calle syre Gawayne /…”

Formed from re- + move

Proto-Italic *wre- ‘again’

English re-

Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move, drive’

…

Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’

Latin moveō ‘move’

Old Northern French mover ‘to move’

Middle English moven

English move

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move’

motion, 85 more

through Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’

movement, momentum, automobile, automotive, promoter, immobile, mover, emotionless, 85 more

through Latin moveō ‘to move, stir, set in motion’

mobile, auto, promote, emotional, motor, promotion, mobility, emotion, remote, motive, motivate, motif, mobilization, mobilize, mobilisation, motility, mobilise, motile, emote, 66 more

Today it means

verb To delete.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “remove”. 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 *m(y)ewh₁- / remove

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