Etymograph

English

urticate

Urticate comes from Latin urtīca ‘nettle’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEurtīca1‘nettle’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEurticatus1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1912urticate1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English urticate
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1912, The British Journal of Dermatology: “In certain cases of erythemata there was an urticate…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEurtīcaWiktionary, English urticate‘nettle’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEurticatusWiktionary, English urticate
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1912urticateWiktionary, English urticate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1912, The British Journal of Dermatology: “In certain cases of erythemata there was an urticate…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ews- ‘to burn’

ware, primavera, 24 more

through Latin ūrō ‘to burn’

combustion, urn, combust, 21 more

Today it means

verb To have or produce a stinging sensation, as of nettles or urticating hair.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “urticate”. 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 urtīca / urticate

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