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Origin and history of corroborate

corroborate(v.)

1520s, "to give (legal) confirmation to," from Latin corroboratus, past participle of corroborare "to strengthen, invigorate," from assimilated form of com "with, together," here perhaps "thoroughly" (see com-) + roborare "to make strong," from robur, robus "strength," (see robust).

Meaning "to strengthen by evidence, to confirm" is from 1706. Sometimes 16c.-18c. in its literal Latin sense "make strong or add strength to," especially of medicines. Related: Corroborated; corroborating; corroborative.

also from 1520s

Entries linking to corroborate

robust(adj.)

1540s, of persons, "having or indicating great strength, muscular, vigorous," from French robuste (14c.) and directly from Latin robustus "strong and hardy," literally "as strong as oak," originally "oaken," from robur, robus "hard timber, strength," also "a special kind of oak," named for its reddish heartwood, from Latin ruber "red" (related to robigo "rust"), from PIE root *reudh- "red, ruddy." Related: Robustly; robustness; robusticity.

Robustious (1540s) was an elaborated form common in 17c. (see "Hamlet" iii.2), with more of a sense of "rough, violent, rude;" according to OED it fell from use by mid-18c., but was somewhat revived by mid-19c. antiquarian writers. Related: Robustiously; robustiousness.

com-

word-forming element usually meaning "with, together," from Latin com, archaic form of classical Latin cum "together, together with, in combination," from PIE *kom- "beside, near, by, with" (compare Old English ge-, German ge-). The prefix in Latin sometimes was used as an intensive.

Before vowels and aspirates, it is reduced to co-; before -g-, it is assimilated to cog- or con-; before -l-, assimilated to col-; before -r-, assimilated to cor-; before -c-, -d-, -j-, -n-, -q-, -s-, -t-, and -v-, it is assimilated to con-, which was so frequent that it often was used as the normal form.

*reudh-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "red, ruddy." The only color for which a definite common PIE root word has been found. The initial -e- in the Greek word is because Greek tends to avoid beginning words with -r-.

It might form all or part of: bilirubin; corroborate; Eritrea; erysipelas; erythema; erythro-; Radnor; red; redskin; roan; robust; rooibos; Rotwelsch; rouge; roux; rowan; rubella; rubicund; rubric; ruby; ruddock; ruddy; rufous; Rufus; russet; rust.

It might also be the source of: Latin ruber, also dialectal rufus "light red," mostly of hair; Greek erythros; Sanskrit rudhira-; Avestan raoidita-; Old Church Slavonic rudru, Polish rumiany, Russian rumjanyj "flushed, red," of complexions, etc.; Lithuanian raudas; Old Irish ruad, Welsh rhudd, Breton ruz "red."

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    support
    late 14c., supporten, "to hold up, prop up, bear the weight of;" also "to aid" someone, "speak in support or advocacy of;" also "put up with, bear without opposition, endure without being overcome, tolerate," from Old French suporter "to bear, endure, sustain, support" (14c.) and
    confirm
    mid-13c., confirmyn, confermen "to ratify, sanction, make valid by a legal act," from Old French confermer (13c., Modern French confirmer) "strengthen, establish, consolidate; affirm by proof or evidence; anoint (a king)," from Latin confirmare "make firm, strengthen, establish,"
    sustain
    late 13c., sustenen, transitive, "provide the necessities of life to;" by early 14c. as "give support to (an effort or cause); also in physical senses, "keep from falling or sinking, hold up or upright;" also "give assistance to; keep (a quarrel, etc.) going." It is from the stem
    affirm
    ) "affirm, confirm; strengthen, consolidate," from Latin affirmare "to make steady, strengthen," figuratively "confirm, corroborate...
    vouch
    early 14c., "summon into court to prove a title," from Anglo-French voucher, Old French vocher "to call, summon, invoke, claim," probably from Gallo-Roman *voticare, metathesis of Latin vocitare "to call to, summon insistently," frequentative of Latin vocare "to call, call upon,
    show
    Middle English sheuen, from Old English sceawian "to look at, see, gaze, behold, observe; inspect, examine; look for, choose," from Proto-Germanic *skauwojanan (source also of Old Saxon skauwon "to look at," Old Frisian skawia, Dutch schouwen, Old High German scouwon "to look at"
    eager
    late 13c., "strenuous, ardent, fierce, angry," from Old French aigre "sour, acid; harsh, bitter, rough; eager greedy; lively, active, forceful," from Vulgar Latin *acrus (source also of Italian agro, Spanish agrio), from Latin acer "keen, sharp, pointed, piercing; acute, ardent,
    agree
    late 14c., "to give consent, assent," from Old French agreer "to please, satisfy; to receive with favor, take pleasure in" (12c.), a contraction of the phrase a gré "favorably, of good will," literally "to (one's) liking," or a like contraction in Medieval Latin. The French phras
    back
    Old English bæc "back," from Proto-Germanic *bakam (cognates: Old Saxon and Middle Dutch bak, Old Frisian bek), with no known connections outside Germanic. In other modern Germanic languages the cognates mostly have been ousted in this sense by words akin to Modern English ridge
    demonstrate
    1550s, "point out, indicate, exhibit," a sense now obsolete, from Latin demonstratus, past participle of demonstrare "point out, indicate, demonstrate," figuratively, "prove, establish," from de- "entirely" (see de-) + monstrare "point out, show," from monstrum "divine omen, wond

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