Etymograph

English

vote

Vote comes from Latin vōtum ‘vow, promise’, a form of voveō ‘to vow’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁wegʷʰ- ‘to promise’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wegʷʰ-1‘to promise, to vow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wogʷʰéyeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*woɣʷeō1‘to vow’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoveō1‘to vow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvōtum1‘vow, promise’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1633vote1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English vote
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1633, Philip Massinger, The Guardian: “Jol[ante]. In you, Sir, / I live; and when,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wegʷʰ-Wiktionary, English vote‘to promise, to vow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁wogʷʰéyetiWiktionary, English votereconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*woɣʷeōWiktionary, English vote‘to vow’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvoveōWiktionary, English vote‘to vow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvōtumWiktionary, English vote‘vow, promise’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1633voteWiktionary, English vote. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1633, Philip Massinger, The Guardian: “Jol[ante]. In you, Sir, / I live; and when,…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with vote, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Italic *woɣʷeō ‘to vow, promise’

  • devotion ← devocion ← dēvōtiō ← dēvōtum ← supine
  • devout ← devot ← dēvōtus ← dēvoveō ← voveō

through Latin vōtum ‘promise, dedication, vow, solemn pledge’

  • vow ← vowe ← vut
  • votive ← votif ← vōtīvus

2 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A formalized choice on legally relevant measures such as employment or appointment to office or a proceeding about a legal dispute.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vote”. 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 *h₁wegʷʰ- / vote