English
axon
Axon comes from Ancient Greek ἄξων ‘axis’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱs-‘axle, axis’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*aksōnreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄξωνáxōn‘axis’
- Englishtodayaxon
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱs-‘axle, axis’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*aksōnreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄξωνáxōn‘axis’
- Englishtodayaxon
The story
Via Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- cognate with inherited English axle and other borrowed axis, aisle, ala, atelier.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- ‘axle, axis’
Today it means
noun A nerve fibre which is a long slender projection of a nerve cell, and which conducts nerve impulses away from the body of the cell to a synapse.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- / axon