Etymograph

English

deciduous

Deciduous comes from Latin dēciduus ‘falling down or off’, from cadō ‘to fall’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱad-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱad-‘to fall’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱádetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘to fall’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcidō‘to fall down or off’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēciduus‘falling down or off’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1911deciduous

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱad-‘to fall’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱádetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘to fall’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēcidō‘to fall down or off’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēciduus‘falling down or off’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1911deciduous

Earliest quotation: 1911, Richard Lydekker: “In the Hippoidea there is generally the full series…”

Linked words

through Latin cadō ‘to fall’

case, chance, occasion, accident, cheat, incident, casualty, incidence, coincide, cadence, cadaver, occidental, recidivism, occident, 15 more

through Latin dēcidō ‘to fall down or off’

decision, decay, decadent, 3 more

Today it means

adj Describing a part that falls off, or is shed, at a particular time or stage of development.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱad- / deciduous

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