Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. including every possible element; fully...

Ancestry of “exhaustive”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Medieval Latinexhaustīvus—
2Latinexhaustusdrawn out, exhausted, drained off, emptied,...
3LatinexhaurioI draw out, empty by drawing, exhaust, drain off,...
4Latinhauriō—
5Proto-Italicauzjō—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ews-dawn; east; to draw water, scoop up

Words derived from “exhaustive”

  • exhaustively
  • exhaustiveness
  • nonexhaustive
  • exhaustivity
  • inexhaustive
  • unexhaustive
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ews- →