English
cadence
Cadence comes from Old Italian cadenza ‘conclusion of a phrase of music’, from Latin *cadentia ‘falling’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱh₂d-root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱád-e-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘to fall, to cease’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*cadentia‘falling’literally ‘a falling’reconstructedpresent participle of cadō
- Old Italianmoderncadenza‘conclusion of a phrase of music’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cadence
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱh₂d-root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱád-e-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘to fall, to cease’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*cadentia‘falling’literally ‘a falling’reconstructedpresent participle of cadō
- Old Italianmoderncadenza‘conclusion of a phrase of music’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cadence
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, Loues Labour’s Lost: “You find not the apostrophas, and so miss the…”
The story
Borrowed from Middle French cadence, from Old Italian cadenza (‘conclusion of a phrase of music’), from Latin *cadentia (literally “a falling”), form of cadēns, the present participle of cadō (‘to fall, to cease’). The Latin verb is inherited, via Proto-Italic *kadō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱad-e- (“to fall”, thematic present).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d-
casual, coincidence, cascade, coincident, 1 more
through Latin cadō ‘to fall, to cease’
case, accident, occasion, cheat, incident, casualty, decay, coincide, incidence, deciduous, recidivism, occidental, cadaver, decadent, occident, 15 more
through Latin *cadentia ‘falling’
Today it means
noun The act or state of declining or sinking.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d- / cadence