Where does “refuse” come from?
Refuse comes from English refuse, from Italian rifiutare, from Latin recusare meaning "to reject," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer- meaning "to turn."
refuse (English): Discarded, rejected; Collectively, items or...
Definitions
- Discarded, rejected; Collectively, items or...
Ancestry of “refuse”, step by step
refuse traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English fuse
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fuse | A cord that, when lit, conveys the fire to some... |
| 2 | English | fusion | The act of merging separate elements, or the... |
| 3 | Middle French | fusion | fusion (act of melting or liquefying something by heating it) |
| 4 | Old French | fusion | — |
| 5 | Latin | fusio | a pouring out; an outpouring, effusion; a... |
| 6 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 7 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 8 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 9 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 10 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 11 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 12 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 13 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |