English
anfractuous
Anfractuous comes from Late Latin anfractuosus ‘circuitous, roundabout’, from Latin anfractus ‘bend, curve’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrangō‘to break, shatter’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEanfractus‘bend, curve’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEanfractuosus‘circuitous, roundabout’
- Englishearliest quotation 1668anfractuous
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrangō‘to break, shatter’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEanfractus‘bend, curve’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEanfractuosus‘circuitous, roundabout’
- Englishearliest quotation 1668anfractuous
Earliest quotation: 1668, Franciscus Euistor the Palæopolite pseud, The Second Dialogue: “So intricate, ſo anfractuous, ſo unſearchable are the vvays…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’
break, broken, broke, brigade, brake, bracket, fraction, bray, suffrage, frail, breech, brogan, brogue, 34 more
through Latin frangō ‘to break, shatter’
fragile, refrain, fragment, fret, fracture, infringe, diffraction, refractory, fractal, infraction, refraction, 15 more
Today it means
adj sinuous, twisty, winding.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- / anfractuous