Etymology

inveterate

in·vet·er·ate
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Today it means: Firmly established from having been around for a long time; of long standing. Full definition →

Latin inveterātus
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed frominveterātus“of long standing, chronic”
  2. English todayinveterate

The adjective is first attested in 1528, the verb in 1574; borrowed from Latin inveterātus (“of long standing, chronic”), perfect passive participle of inveterō and participial adjective (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from in- (“in, into”) + veterō (“to age”), from vetus, veteris (“old”). Cognate with Italian inveterato, French invétéré. By surface analysis, in- (“not, opposite”) + veterate.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.