Etymology

implicate

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Today it means: To show to be connected or involved in an unfavorable or criminal way. Full definition →

Middle English implicaten ← Latin implicātus
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implicate · verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromimplicātus
  2. Middle English · inherited fromimplicaten
  3. English todayimplicate

First attested in the 15th century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English implicaten (poorly attested), from implicat(e) (“wrapped, entwined; involved, connected (with)”, possibly also used as the past participle of implicaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin implicātus, perfect passive participle of implicō (“to entangle, involve”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from plicō (“to fold”). Doublet of imply and employ.

implicate · noun, adjective2

  1. Middle English · inherited fromimplicat(e)“wrapped, entwined; incolved, connected (with)”
  2. English todayimplicate

First attested in the first part of the 15ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English implicat(e) (“wrapped, entwined; incolved, connected (with)”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix), -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.