English
cycle
Cycle comes from Middle English cicle ‘fixed period of years’, from Late Latin cyclus, from Greek κύκλος ‘circle’, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos ‘wheel’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷel-‘to turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlos‘wheel, circle’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúklos‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύκλοςkúklos‘circle, ring’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcyclus
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cicle‘fixed length period of years’
- Englishearliest quotation 1664cycle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷel-‘to turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlos‘wheel, circle’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúklos‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύκλοςkúklos‘circle, ring’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcyclus
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cicle‘fixed length period of years’
- Englishearliest quotation 1664cycle
Earliest quotation: 1664, John Evelyn, The Gard’ners Almanac; […] [Introduction to the Kalendar.]”: “[H]ere we endeavour to preſent our Gard'ners with a…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-
polar, pole, columnist, loaf, bazaar, accolade, pulley, bucolic, 9 more
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos ‘circle, wheel’
through Proto-Hellenic *kúklos ‘circle, wheel’
through Ancient Greek κύκλος ‘circle’
Today it means
noun An interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- / cycle