Etymograph

English

sublime

Sublime comes from Latin sublimō ‘to elevate, raise’, from līmen ‘threshold, doorstep, sill’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- ‘to bow, to bend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Heh₃l-1‘to bow, to bend’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīmen2‘threshold, doorstep, sill’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsublīmus2‘eminent, exalted, elevated’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsublimō1‘to elevate, raise’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsublīmāre1present active infinitive of sublimō
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sublimer1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sublimen1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1591sublime1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English sublime
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin sublimo
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, Philip Sidney, [Sonnet 77]: “Thoſe vvords vvhich doe ſublime the quinteſſence of bliſſe,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Heh₃l-Wiktionary, English sublime‘to bow, to bend’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElīmenWiktionary, Latin sublimo‘threshold, doorstep, sill’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsublīmusWiktionary, Latin sublimo‘eminent, exalted, elevated’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsublimōWiktionary, English sublime‘to elevate, raise’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsublīmāreWiktionary, English sublimepresent active infinitive of sublimō
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sublimerWiktionary, English sublime
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sublimenWiktionary, English sublime
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1591sublimeWiktionary, English sublime. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, Philip Sidney, [Sonnet 77]: “Thoſe vvords vvhich doe ſublime the quinteſſence of bliſſe,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- ‘to bow, to bend’

limit, ell, ulna, limes, 10 more

through Latin līmen ‘threshold, doorstep, sill’

preliminary, eliminate, elimination, liminal, 7 more

Another origin of sublime

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsublīmis‘uplifted, high, lofty, exalted, sublime’
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sublime‘admirable, excellent, perfect’
  3. Englishtodaysublime

The adjective is derived from Middle French sublime (‘admirable, excellent, perfect; placed in a high position; reaching a great height; of a person: of high office or rank’) (modern French sublime), and from its etymon Latin sublīmis, sublīmus (“elevated, raised; exalted, uplifted, sublime”, adjective): see etymology 1. The noun is derived from Middle French sublime (‘elevated style in writing; quality in art or nature inspiring awe, reverence, etc.’) (modern French sublime), from the adjective: see further above.

Today it means

verb To heat (a substance) in a container so as to convert it into a gas which then condenses in solid form on cooler parts of the container; (generally) to change (a solid substance) into a gas without breaking down or passing through the liquid state by heating it gently.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sublime”; 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 / Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- / sublime

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