Etymograph

English

terminate

Terminate comes from Latin terminātus ‘marked off, bounded, limited’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ter- ‘tender, weak’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ter-1‘tender, weak’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*térmn̥1‘boundary, end’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*termn̥1‘boundary stone’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*term(e)nos1‘boundary stone’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminus1‘bound, limit’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminō2‘to set bounds to, bound, limit, end, close, terminate’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminātus2‘marked off, bounded, limited’perfect passive participle of terminō
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500terminat2‘bounded’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500terminaten2‘to bring to an end’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1834terminate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin termino
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English terminate
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “She unlocked the casket which contained her mother's picture,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ter-Wiktionary, Latin termino‘tender, weak’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*térmn̥Wiktionary, Latin termino‘boundary, end’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*termn̥Wiktionary, Latin termino‘boundary stone’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*term(e)nosWiktionary, Latin termino‘boundary stone’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminusWiktionary, Latin termino‘bound, limit’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminōWiktionary, English terminate‘to set bounds to, bound, limit, end, close, terminate’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminātusWiktionary, English terminate‘marked off, bounded, limited’perfect passive participle of terminō
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500terminatWiktionary, English terminate‘bounded’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500terminatenWiktionary, English terminate‘to bring to an end’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1834terminateWiktionary, English terminate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “She unlocked the casket which contained her mother's picture,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ter- ‘tender, weak’

thrill, intrigue, treachery, thro, inextricable, 31 more

through Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥ ‘boundary, end’

tram, 25 more

through Latin terminō ‘to set bounds to, bound, limit, end, close,…’

determination, extermination, determinism, interminable, 9 more

Another origin of terminate

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500terminat‘bounded’
  2. Englishtodayterminate

Today it means

verb To end something, especially when left in an incomplete state.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “terminate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin termino. 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 *ter- / terminate

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