Etymograph

English

venefice

Venefice comes from Latin venēficium ‘an instance of poisoning’, 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 CEvenēficus3‘poisonous’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvenēficium4‘an instance of poisoning’
  6. Englishtodayvenefice4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin venenum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin veneficus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin veneficium
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English venefice

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, Latin veneficus‘poison”’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvenēficusWiktionary, Latin veneficium‘poisonous’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvenēficiumWiktionary, English venefice‘an instance of poisoning’
  6. EnglishtodayveneficeWiktionary, English venefice

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

noun The act or practice of poisoning.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “venefice”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin venenum, Latin veneficus, Latin veneficium. 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- / venefice

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