English
vivid
Vivid comes from Latin vīvidus ‘animated, spirited’, from Proto-Italic *gʷīwō ‘to live, to be alive’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷíh₃weti.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷíh₃weti1‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷīwō1‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīvō1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīvidus1‘animated, spirited’
- Englishearliest quotation 1907vivid1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English vivid
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, Harold Bindloss, Toronto: “The vivid, untrammeled life appealed to him, and for…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷíh₃wetiWiktionary, English vivid‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷīwōWiktionary, English vivid‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīvōWiktionary, English vivid
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīvidusWiktionary, English vivid‘animated, spirited’
- Englishearliest quotation 1907vividWiktionary, English vivid. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, Harold Bindloss, Toronto: “The vivid, untrammeled life appealed to him, and for…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’
biology, hygiene, vitamin, kidney, viable, zodiac, vitality, revive, anaerobic, quicken, quicksilver, quickness, biogenesis, wyvern, 57 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós ‘alive, living’
through Latin vīvō
Today it means
adj Clear, detailed, or powerful.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “vivid”. 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 *gʷíh₃weti / vivid