Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “anoint” come from?

Anoint comes from Middle English enointen, from Old French enoint and enoindre meaning to smear or rub with oil, from Latin inungere, composed of the prefix in- and the root in, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne.

anoint (English): To smear or rub over with oil or an unctuous...

Definitions

  1. To smear or rub over with oil or an unctuous...

Ancestry of “anoint”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishenointen—
2Old Frenchenoint—
3Old Frenchenoindreto anoint
4Latininungoanoint
5Latinīn-—
6Latinîn—
7Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
8Proto-Italicenin
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “anoint”

  • anointment
  • anointest
  • anointeth
  • reanoint
  • disanoint
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →