*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of join

From Middle English joinen, joynen, joignen, from Old French joindre, juindre, jungre, from Latin iungō (“join, yoke”, verb), from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- (“to join, unite”). Cognate with Old English iucian, iugian, ġ

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

An act of joining or the state of being joined; a junction or joining. · An intersection of piping or wiring; an interconnect. · An intersection of data in two or more database tables. · The act of joining something, such as a network.

verb

To connect or combine into one; to put together. · To come together; to meet. · To enter into association or alliance, to unite in a common purpose. · To start working on or participating in a project.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English joinen, joynen, joignen, from Old French joindre, juindre, jungre, from Latin iungō (“join, yoke”, verb), from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- (“to join, unite”). Cognate with Old English iucian, iugian, ġeocian, ġyċċan (“to join; yoke”). More at yoke.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*yewg-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentionjoinenenm
  • Derivation mentionjoindrefro
  • Derivation mentioniungōla · join, yoke
  • Derivation mention*yewg-ine-pro
  • Cognate mentioniucianang

This page abbreviates 8 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*yewg-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "joinen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English joinen"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "joindre"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French joindre"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "iungō",
        "t": "join, yoke",
        "pos": "verb"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin iungō (“join, yoke”, verb)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*yewg-",
        "gloss": "to join, unite"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *yewg- (“to join, unite”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "iucian"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English iucian"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "joinen",
      "joinen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "joynen",
      "joynen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "joignen",
      "joignen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "joindre",
      "joindre#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "juindre",
      "juindre#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "jungre",
      "jungre#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "iungō",
      "iungo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*yewg-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/yewg-"
    ],
    [
      "iucian",
      "iucian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "iugian",
      "iugian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġeocian",
      "geocian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġyċċan",
      "gyccan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "yoke",
      "yoke#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An act of joining or the state of being joined; a junction or joining.",
        "An intersection of piping or wiring; an interconnect.",
        "An intersection of data in two or more database tables.",
        "The act of joining something, such as a network."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 38200
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To connect or combine into one; to put together.",
        "To come together; to meet.",
        "To enter into association or alliance, to unite in a common purpose.",
        "To start working on or participating in a project."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "intransitive"
      ],
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      "rawRecordSha256": "0eb970b5066b45b756e609532a2179133900865cb5b8daf5a9289bb290c8bef6",
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 8,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for join →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-am9pbg