Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “relict” come from?

Relict comes from Latin relictus, the past participle of relinquo meaning "to leave behind," formed from the prefix re- and a root from Proto-Italic linkʷō, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European wert- and wer-.

relict (English): Something that, or someone who, survives or...

Definitions

  1. Something that, or someone who, survives or...

Ancestry of “relict”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishrelicte—
2Middle Frenchrelicte—
3Late Latinrelicta—
4Latinrelictusabandoned, having been abandoned, forsaken,...
5Latinrelinquō—
6Latinlinquō—
7Proto-Italiclinkʷōleave
8Proto-Indo-Europeanlinékʷtito be leaving
9Proto-Indo-Europeanleykʷ-to leave

Words derived from “relict”

  • relictual
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leykʷ- →