English
decan
Decan comes from Late Latin decānus ‘chief of ten people’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥‘ten’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dekəm‘ten’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecem‘ten’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdecānus‘chief of ten people’
- Englishtodaydecan
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥‘ten’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dekəm‘ten’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecem‘ten’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdecānus‘chief of ten people’
- Englishtodaydecan
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’
ten, century, cent, hundred, dick, sen, decade, hectare, tenfold, dinero, 49 more
through Proto-Italic *dekəm ‘ten’
den, diner, denier, dwt, 19 more
through Latin decem ‘ten’
dozen, decimal, dicker, deni, 19 more
through Late Latin decānus ‘chief of ten people’
Today it means
noun One of a collection of 36 small constellations or zodiacal subdivisions that appear heliacally at intervals of 10 days or are separated by approximately 10 degrees.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ / decan