Etymograph

English

resilient

Resilient comes from Latin resiliēns ‘rebounding’, from resiliō ‘to leap or spring back’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sel-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sel-1‘jump, spring’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sl̥-yé-tor1uncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἅλλομαι1hállomai‘to leap, jump’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaliō2‘to leap’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEresiliō3‘to leap or spring back’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEresiliēns3‘rebounding’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1994resilient3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin salio, which cites LIV
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin resilio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English resilient
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1994, Michael Grumley: “He’s resilient, and strong, but sometimes tonight, here, the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sel-Wiktionary, Latin salio, which cites LIV‘jump, spring’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sl̥-yé-torWiktionary, Latin salio, which cites LIVuncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἅλλομαιWiktionary, Latin salio, which cites LIVhállomai‘to leap, jump’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaliōWiktionary, Latin resilio‘to leap’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEresiliōWiktionary, English resilient‘to leap or spring back’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEresiliēnsWiktionary, English resilient‘rebounding’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1994resilientWiktionary, English resilient. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1994, Michael Grumley: “He’s resilient, and strong, but sometimes tonight, here, the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sel- ‘jump, spring’

sale, savage, insult, salon, salvage, exile, silva, salle, sylvan, sill, somersault, selva, slink, seel, selly, 17 more

through Latin saliō ‘to leap’

salt, sauce, salad, salmon, sally, salacious, salient, exultant, salience, 28 more

through Latin resiliō ‘to leap or spring back’

result, 5 more

Today it means

adj Returning quickly to original shape after force is applied; elastic. (of objects or substances)

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “resilient”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin salio, Latin resilio. 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 *sel- / resilient

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