English
climate
Climate comes from Old French climat, from Latin clima, from Greek κλίμα ‘slope, latitude’, from κλίνω ‘to incline’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱl̥néyti ‘to lean’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱl̥néyti‘to lean’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*klíňňōreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλίνω‘to bend, slant’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEκλίμαklíma‘slope, inclination; latitude’literally ‘inclination’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclima
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400climat
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500climat
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1610–1611climate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱl̥néyti‘to lean’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*klíňňōreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλίνω‘to bend, slant’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEκλίμαklíma‘slope, inclination; latitude’literally ‘inclination’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclima
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400climat
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500climat
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1610–1611climate
Earliest quotation: c. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Winters Tale: “The blessed gods / Purge all infection from our…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- ‘to incline’
law, low, lean, ladder, decline, lid, inclination, eyelid, incline, clinician, declension, recline, proclivity, declination, 26 more
through Ancient Greek κλῑ́νω ‘to slope, incline’
Today it means
noun The long-term manifestations of weather and other atmospheric conditions in a given area or country, now usually represented by the statistical summary of its weather conditions during a period long enough to ensure that representative values are obtained (generally 30 years).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱl̥néyti / climate