Etymology of the English word suffocate
the English word
suffocatederived from the Latin word
suffocare (strangle, choke, suffocate)
using the Latin prefix
sub-derived from the Late Latin word
sub (under)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*upoderived from the Latin word
faucesDate
The earliest known usage of suffocate in English dates from the 16th century.
Derivations in English
suffocated,
suffocatingCognates
French
suffoquer, Italian
soffocare, Italian
suffocare, Latin
suffocare, Spanish
sufocarUsage
Word found in Modern English
