include

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kleh₂w-“key, hook, nail”
2. Latin · derived frominclūdere“to shut in, enclose, insert”
3. Middle English · inherited fromincluden
4. English todayinclude

From Middle English includen, borrowed from Latin inclūdere (“to shut in, enclose, insert”), from in- (“in”) + claudere (“to shut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- (“key, hook, nail”). Doublet of enclose. Displaced native Old English belūcan (“to include,” also “to shut in”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from early 15th c. To enclose, confine.