Where does “placate” come from?

Placate comes from Latin placatus, the past participle of placo meaning to calm or appease, derived from Proto-Indo-European plāk-, which traces to pele- meaning to spread or flatten.

placate (English): To calm; to bring peace to; to influence someone...

Definitions

  1. To calm; to bring peace to; to influence someone...

Ancestry of “placate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinplācātussoothed, appeased, calmed
2Latinplācōto appease
3Proto-Indo-Europeanplāk-broad, flat; smooth, flat; flat, broad, plain
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpele-broad, flat, plain; broad, wide, flat

Words derived from “placate”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pele- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European plāk- →Every word from Latin plācō →
placate — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer