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Origin and history of extol

extol(v.)

also extoll, c. 1400, "to lift up," from Latin extollere "to place on high, raise, elevate," figuratively "to exalt, praise," from ex "up" (see ex-) + tollere "to raise," from PIE *tele- "to bear, carry," "with derivatives referring to measured weights and thence money and payment" [Watkins].

Cognates include Greek talantos "bearing, suffering," tolman "to carry, bear," telamon "broad strap for bearing something," talenton "a balance, pair of scales," Atlas "the 'Bearer' of Heaven;" Lithuanian tiltas "bridge;" Sanskrit tula "balance," tulayati "lifts up, weighs;" Latin tolerare "to bear, support," perhaps also latus "borne;" Old English þolian "to endure;" Armenian tolum "I allow." Figurative sense of "praise highly" in English is first attested c. 1500. Related: Extolled; extolling.

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to extol

extoll

variant of extol.

oblate(n.)

"person devoted to religious work," especially "child dedicated by his or her parents to monastic life and raised and trained in a monastery and held in monastic discipline," 1756, from Medieval Latin oblatus, noun use of Latin oblatus, variant past participle of offerre "to offer, to bring before," from ob- (see ob-) + lātus "carried, borne," used as past participle of the irregular verb ferre "to bear."

Presumably lātus was taken (by a process linguists call suppletion) from a different, pre-Latin verb. By the same process, in English, went became the past tense of go. Latin lātus is said by Watkins to be from *tlatos, from PIE root *tele- "to bear, carry" (see extol), but de Vaan says "No good etymology available."

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Trends of extol

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

superlative
late 14c., superlatif, "supreme, most excellent, raised or occupying the highest pitch, position, or degree," from Old French superlatif "absolute, highest; powerful; best" (13c.) and directly from Late Latin superlativus "extravagant, exaggerated, hyperbolic," from Latin superla
talent
late 13c., "inclination, disposition, will, desire;" c. 1300, "feeling, emotion, passion," senses now obsolete, from Old French talent (12c.), from Medieval Latin talenta, plural of talentum "inclination, leaning, will, desire" (11c.), in classical Latin "balance, weight; sum of
toleration
1510s, "permission granted by authority, licence," from French tolération (15c.), from Latin tolerationem (nominative toleratio) "a bearing, supporting, enduring," noun of action from past-participle stem of tolerare "to endure, sustain, support, suffer," literally "to bear" (fro
laud
"praise highly, sing the praises of," late 14c., from Old French lauder "to praise, extol," from Latin laudare "to praise..., commend, honor, extol, eulogize," from laus (genitive laudis) "praise, fame, glory."...
glorify
mid-14c., "praise, honor, extol" (God or a person), also "vaunt, be proud of, boast of; glorify oneself, be proud, boast;..." from Old French glorefiier "glorify, extol, exalt; glory in, boast" (Modern French glorifier), from Late Latin glorificare...
magnification
Latin magnificationem (nominative magnificatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of magnificare "esteem greatly, extol...
magnify
honor (of someone or something)," from Old French magnefiier "glorify, magnify," from Latin magnificare "esteem greatly, extol...
aspire
"strive for, seek eagerly to attain, long to reach," c. 1400, aspiren, from Old French aspirer "aspire to; inspire; breathe, breathe on" (12c.), from Latin aspirare "to breathe upon, blow upon, to breathe," also, in transferred senses, "to be favorable to, assist; to climb up to,
praise
c. 1300, preisen, "to express admiration of, commend, adulate, flatter" (someone or something), from Old French preisier, variant of prisier "to praise, value," from Late Latin preciare, earlier pretiare "to price, value, prize," from Latin pretium "reward, prize, value, worth,"
latex
1660s, "body fluid," from Latin latex (genitive laticis) "liquid, a liquid, fluid," probably from Greek latax "dregs," from PIE root *lat- "wet, moist" (source also of Middle Irish laith "beer," Welsh llaid "mud, mire," Lithuanian latakas "pool, puddle," Old Norse leþja "filth").

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