English
carceral
Carceral comes from Latin carcer ‘jail, prison’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to bend, turn, in the sense of an enclosure’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to bend, turn, in the sense of an enclosure’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarcer‘jail, prison’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcarcerālis
- Englishearliest quotation 1855carceral
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to bend, turn, in the sense of an enclosure’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarcer‘jail, prison’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcarcerālis
- Englishearliest quotation 1855carceral
Earliest quotation: 1855, John Foxe: “[O]n his showing signs of penitence, through favour they…”
The story
From Late Latin carcerālis (‘carceral’), from Latin carcer (‘jail, prison’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (‘to bend, turn, in the sense of an enclosure’)) + -ālis (suffix forming relational adjectives).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to bend, turn, in the sense of an enclosure’
short, across, cross, share, screen, score, shirt, card, circle, cancer, circuit, curve, crucial, skirt, circulation, curb, circus, scrutiny, shrine, crest, scare, cancellation, corona, scorpion, carnival, shred, scar, shear, corolla, circa, scorn, shrewd, crux, circulate, raffle, cirque, carnage, crepe, corgi, shard, 117 more
through Latin carcer ‘jail, prison’
Today it means
adj Of or pertaining to imprisonment or a prison.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / carceral