Etymograph

English

volatile

Volatile comes from Latin volātilis ‘flying’, from volō ‘to fly’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *gʷelāō.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷelāō1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvolō2‘to fly’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvolātilis2‘flying’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600volatile2
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2007volatile2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin volo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English volatile
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Unwise Arms Deal With Saudi Arabia (2 Letters): “Now Mr. Bush plans to pour more arms into…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷelāōWiktionary, Latin voloreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvolōWiktionary, English volatile‘to fly’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvolātilisWiktionary, English volatile‘flying’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600volatileWiktionary, English volatile
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2007volatileWiktionary, English volatile. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Unwise Arms Deal With Saudi Arabia (2 Letters): “Now Mr. Bush plans to pour more arms into…”

Linked words

through Latin volō ‘to fly’

voluntary, volition, malevolence, 10 more

Today it means

adj Evaporating or vaporizing readily under normal conditions.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “volatile”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin volo. 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-Italic *gʷelāō / volatile

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