Etymograph

English

sublimation

Sublimation comes from Latin sublīmō ‘to raise, to elevate’, and goes back to līmen ‘threshold, doorstep, sill’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīmen1‘threshold, doorstep, sill’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsublīmus1‘eminent, exalted, elevated’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsublīmō2‘to raise, to elevate’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sublīmātiō2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sublimacioun2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2023sublimation2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sublimo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English sublimation
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Tom Ingall, Freezing the leaves off the line: “It uses dry ice pellets (capsules of frozen carbon…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīmenWiktionary, Latin sublimo‘threshold, doorstep, sill’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsublīmusWiktionary, Latin sublimo‘eminent, exalted, elevated’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsublīmōWiktionary, English sublimation‘to raise, to elevate’
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sublīmātiōWiktionary, English sublimation
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sublimaciounWiktionary, English sublimation
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2023sublimationWiktionary, English sublimation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Tom Ingall, Freezing the leaves off the line: “It uses dry ice pellets (capsules of frozen carbon…”

Formed from sublimate + -ion

Latin līmen ‘threshold, doorstep, sill’

Latin sublīmus ‘eminent, exalted, elevated’

Latin sublimō ‘to raise, elevate’

Latin sublīmātus ‘raised, elevated’

Middle English sublymate

English sublimate

Linked words

through Latin līmen ‘threshold, doorstep, sill’

preliminary, eliminate, elimination, subliminal, liminal, 6 more

Today it means

noun The transition of a substance from the solid phase directly to the vapor state such that it does not pass through the intermediate liquid phase.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sublimation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin sublimo. 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 / Latin līmen / sublimation

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