Where does “alienate” come from?
Alienate derives from Middle English alienat, from Latin alienatus, the past participle of alieno meaning to make other or estrange, from Latin alius meaning other, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂el- meaning to separate.
alienate (English): Estranged; withdrawn in affection; foreign; A...
Definitions
- Estranged; withdrawn in affection; foreign; A...
Ancestry of “alienate”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | alienat | Mad, insane or crazed; showing lack or loss of... |
| 2 | French | aliéné | past participle of aliéner; One who is insane,... |
| 3 | Latin | aliēnātus | alienated |
| 4 | Latin | aliēnō | to change the nature of a person or thing into something else |
| 5 | Latin | aliēnus | Of that which belongs to another person, place, or object—of another, alien, foreign |
| 6 | Latin | alius | other, another, any other; else; different |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | aljos | another |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂élyos | other, another |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂él- | to grow, nourish |