Etymograph

English

transmit

Transmit comes from Latin trānsmittō, and goes back to mittō ‘to send, dispatch, cause to go, let go,…’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō1‘to send, dispatch, cause to go, let go, release, discharge’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānsmittō2literally ‘across-send’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500transmitten2
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1960transmit2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin transmitto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English transmit
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1960, The first hundred 25 kV a.c. electric locomotives for B.R.: “The tractive and braking forces are transmitted to the…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittōWiktionary, Latin transmitto‘to send, dispatch, cause to go, let go, release, discharge’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrānsmittōWiktionary, English transmitliterally ‘across-send’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500transmittenWiktionary, English transmit
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1960transmitWiktionary, English transmit. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1960, The first hundred 25 kV a.c. electric locomotives for B.R.: “The tractive and braking forces are transmitted to the…”

The story

From Middle English transmitten, borrowed from Latin trānsmittō (“transmit”, verb, literally “across-send”).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *meitō ‘to put forth, put out’

remission, unremitting, 20 more

through Old Latin mītō

permission, admission, submission, emission, omission, remit, commissariat, 22 more

through Latin mittō ‘to send, dispatch, cause to go, let go,…’

commission, committee, mission, mess, admit, missile, commit, premise, dismiss, intermittent, emit, commissary, permissive, omit, amit, commissar, remiss, missive, 33 more

Today it means

verb To send or convey from one person, place or thing to another.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “transmit”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin transmitto. 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 mittō / transmit

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