immerse

Where does the word "immerse" come from? It comes from Latin mergere, passing through Latin before entering English (1500s).

Immerse’s story begins in Latin: mergere meant “to dip, to plunge.” To dip, to plunge, combined with in- (into). Within Latin, it grew into immergere by ancient. To plunge into, from in- and mergere, with irregular past participle immersus. It reached English by 1500s as immerse. Settled as the English word for dipping something completely into a liquid or activity. Today, immerse means to completely involve or absorb someone in an activity, or to dip something into a liquid.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient mergere "to dip, to plunge", to dip, to plunge, combined with in- (into).
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient immergere "to plunge into", to plunge into, from in- and mergere, with irregular past participle immersus.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s immerse "to dip something completely into a liquid or activity", settled as the English word for dipping something completely into a liquid or activity.