Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “contaminate” come from?

Contaminate comes from Old French contaminer, from Latin contaminare, derived from contamen with the prefix con-, ultimately from cum meaning "with."

contaminate (English): To make something dangerous or toxic by...

Definitions

  1. To make something dangerous or toxic by...

Ancestry of “contaminate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchcontaminer—
2Latincontaminarepresent active infinitive of contāminō;...
3LatincontaminoI touch, bring into contact; I corrupt,...
4Latincon-Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing...
5Latincumwith, along with; at; -fold
6Old LatincomAlternative form of cum
7Proto-Italickomwith, along, at
8Proto-Indo-Europeanḱómbeside, near, by, with
9Proto-Indo-EuropeanḱeDeictic particle, here; Post-positional...
10Middle Englishkyt—
11Germankitt—
12Old High Germankuti—
13Proto-West Germanickwidugum, resin
14Proto-Germanickweduzresin
15Proto-Indo-Europeangʷet-resin, gum; to say, speak
16Proto-Indo-Europeangū-to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...

Words derived from “contaminate”

  • decontaminate
  • contaminative
  • contaminator
  • recontaminate
  • decontaminator
  • noncontaminative
  • cross-contaminate
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gū- →