Where does “confuse” come from?
confuse (English) comes from English confused, from Middle English confused, from Anglo-Norman confus, from Latin cōnfūsus, from Latin confundō, from Latin cōn-, from Latin cum, from Old Latin com — to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...
confuse (English): to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder somebody; to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand
Definitions
- to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder somebody; to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand
Ancestry of “confuse”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | confused | simple past tense and past participle of confuse;... |
| 2 | Middle English | confused | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | confus | — |
| 4 | Latin | cōnfūsus | mixed, mingled, having been poured together |
| 5 | Latin | confundō | to pour, mingle, stir up |
| 6 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 7 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 8 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 12 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 13 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 14 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 15 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 16 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 17 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 18 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |