English
cascade
Cascade comes from French cascade ‘cascade (waterfall)’, from Italian cascare ‘to fall’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱh₂d-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadere
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*cāsicāre‘fall’reconstructed
- Italianc. 1300–presentcascare‘to fall’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentcascata‘cascade, waterfall’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcascade‘cascade (waterfall)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1785same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱh₂d-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadere
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*cāsicāre‘fall’reconstructed
- Italianc. 1300–presentcascare‘to fall’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentcascata‘cascade, waterfall’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcascade‘cascade (waterfall)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1785same form
Earliest quotation: 1785, William Cowper: “Now murm'ring soft, now roaring in cascade.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d-
chance, incident, occasion, coincidence, casual, incidence, coincide, cadence, decadent, cadaver, 3 more
Today it means
noun A waterfall or series of small waterfalls.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂d- / cascade