Etymograph

English

render

Render comes from Old French rendre ‘render, give back’, from Proto-Indo-European *dédeh₃ti ‘to be giving’, and ultimately from *deh₃- ‘give’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-1‘give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dédeh₃ti1‘to be giving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*didō1‘to give’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdō2‘give’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreddō3as reddere‘make, give back’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CErendere3
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400rendre3‘render, give back’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500renderen3
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596render3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin do
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin reddo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English render
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame: “I'll make her render up her page to me.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-Wiktionary, Latin do‘give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dédeh₃tiWiktionary, Latin do‘to be giving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*didōWiktionary, Latin do‘to give’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōWiktionary, Latin reddo‘give’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreddōWiktionary, English renderas reddere‘make, give back’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CErendereWiktionary, English render
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400rendreWiktionary, English render‘render, give back’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500renderenWiktionary, English render
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596renderWiktionary, English render. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame: “I'll make her render up her page to me.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘give’

date, add, addition, delicious, donate, donation, donor, dow, additive, vendor, dowry, condone, rendition, dowager, addendum, perdition, dower, dati, sconce, endow, 40 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dédeh₃ti ‘to be giving’

dose, antidote, anecdote, dacha, 20 more

through Proto-Italic *didō ‘to give’

dative, venta, 17 more

through Latin dō ‘give’

data, die, tradition, treason, vent, 18 more

through Late Latin rendere

rent, 4 more

Today it means

verb To cause to become.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “render”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin do, Latin reddo. 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 *deh₃- / render

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