Etymograph

English

venefic

Venefic comes from Latin venēficus ‘poisonous’, from Proto-Italic *weneznom ‘lust, desire’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- ‘to strive, wish, love’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wenh₁-1‘to strive, wish, love’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*weneznom1‘lust, desire’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvenēnum2‘poison’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvenēficus2‘poisonous’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1857venefic2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin venenum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English venefic
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1857, Putnam's Monthly: “Our attorney and Elder Noyse and many others talk…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wenh₁-Wiktionary, Latin venenum‘to strive, wish, love’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*weneznomWiktionary, Latin venenum‘lust, desire’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvenēnumWiktionary, English venefic‘poison’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvenēficusWiktionary, English venefic‘poisonous’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1857veneficWiktionary, English venefic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1857, Putnam's Monthly: “Our attorney and Elder Noyse and many others talk…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- ‘to strive, wish, love’

win, won, wish, wonder, wont, wen, wynn, venerable, wean, winsome, ween, venereal, venerate, 16 more

through Proto-Italic *weneznom ‘lust, desire’

venomous, 8 more

through Latin venēnum ‘poison’

venom, 9 more

Today it means

adj poisonous; pertaining to poison or poisoning

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “venefic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin venenum. 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 *wenh₁- / venefic

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