English
valetude
Valetude comes from Latin valētūdō ‘state of health’, from Proto-Italic *walēō ‘to be strong’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-1reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂wl̥h₁éh₁yeti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*walēō1‘to be strong’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvaleō1‘to be well, healthy, sound’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvalētūdō2‘state of health’
- Englishtodayvaletude2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin valetudo
- 2 Wiktionary, English valetude
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-Wiktionary, Latin valetudoreconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂wl̥h₁éh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin valetudoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*walēōWiktionary, Latin valetudo‘to be strong’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvaleōWiktionary, Latin valetudo‘to be well, healthy, sound’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvalētūdōWiktionary, English valetude‘state of health’
- EnglishtodayvaletudeWiktionary, English valetude
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-
wild, wool, velvet, validation, wield, fluff, flannel, validate, valiant, cuckold, velour, lanolin, woll, valorous, 35 more
through Proto-Italic *walēō ‘to be strong’
value, invalid, validity, 12 more
through Latin valeō ‘to be well, healthy, sound’
equivalent, valid, valuation, avail, vail, ambivalent, valour, ambivalence, valence, convalescent, convalescence, 14 more
Today it means
noun A state of health; especially that of good health.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “valetude”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin valetudo. 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 *h₂welh₁- / valetude