Where does “exhaustive” come from?
Exhaustive comes from Latin exhaustivus, formed from exhaustus meaning "drawn out" and the suffix -ivus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂ews- meaning "to burn out or draw out."
exhaustive (English): including every possible element; fully...
Definitions
- including every possible element; fully...
Ancestry of “exhaustive”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medieval Latin | exhaustīvus | — |
| 2 | Latin | exhaustus | drawn out, exhausted, drained off, emptied,... |
| 3 | Latin | exhaurio | I draw out, empty by drawing, exhaust, drain off,... |
| 4 | Latin | hauriō | to draw (especially water), drain |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | auzjō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ews- | dawn; east; to draw water, scoop up |