Etymograph

English

rotate

Rotate comes from Latin rotātus ‘revolved’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *Hreth₂- ‘to run’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreth₂-1‘to run’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErotō1‘revolve’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErotātus1‘revolved’perfect passive participle of rotō
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1975rotate1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English rotate
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1975, Architectural Digest: “I've always admired the Japanese point of view that…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreth₂-Wiktionary, English rotate‘to run’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErotōWiktionary, English rotate‘revolve’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErotātusWiktionary, English rotate‘revolved’perfect passive participle of rotō
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1975rotateWiktionary, English rotate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1975, Architectural Digest: “I've always admired the Japanese point of view that…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *Hreth₂- ‘to run’

rash, rodeo, rotary, rueda, rotund, rotavirus, 16 more

Today it means

verb To spin, turn, or revolve.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rotate”. 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 *Hreth₂- / rotate

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