English
ament
Ament comes from Latin āmentum ‘thong, string’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- ‘to join, fit’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ep-‘to join, fit’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEāmentum‘thong, string’
- Englishearliest quotation 1789ament
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ep-‘to join, fit’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEāmentum‘thong, string’
- Englishearliest quotation 1789ament
Earliest quotation: 1789, Erasmus Darwin, The Loves of the Plants: “[T]he scales of the ament in the salix rosea,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- ‘to join, fit’
attitude, apex, apt, ape, aptitude, attitudinal, aven, 21 more
Today it means
noun A catkin or similar inflorescence.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- / ament