English
anal
Anal comes from Latin ānālis, from ānus ‘an ankle cuff’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eh₂nos ‘ring’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁eh₂nos‘ring’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ānos‘ring’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEānus‘an ankle cuff’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEānālis
- Englishearliest quotation 1995anal
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁eh₂nos‘ring’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ānos‘ring’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEānus‘an ankle cuff’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEānālis
- Englishearliest quotation 1995anal
Earliest quotation: 1995, Leonard Shengold, Delusions of Everyday Life: “He was a model of anal defensiveness: fastidious in…”
The story
Psychological sense shortened from anal-retentive.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁eh₂nos ‘ring’
through Latin ānus ‘an ankle cuff’
Today it means
adj Of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁eh₂nos / anal