'amputate' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'amputare', where 'ab-' (variant 'am-') meant 'away' and 'putare' meant 'to prune/clean or trim'.

'amputate' changed from the Latin word 'amputare' (past participle 'amputatus') in Medieval/ Late Latin and entered English as 'amputate' (recorded in the 17th century) with the modern form derived from that Latin stem.

Initially it meant 'to cut away' (literally to prune or remove), and over time it came to be used specifically for cutting off limbs or body parts, a meaning that has remained in modern usage.