English
dekad
Dekad comes from Ancient Greek δεκάς ‘group of ten’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥‘ten’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dékə‘ten’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέκᾰ‘ten’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEδεκάςdekás‘group of ten’
- Englishearliest quotation 2022dekad
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥‘ten’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dékə‘ten’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέκᾰ‘ten’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEδεκάςdekás‘group of ten’
- Englishearliest quotation 2022dekad
Earliest quotation: 2022, Africa InterTropical Front (ITF): “Figure 1 displays the current position of the ITF…”
Equivalent to deka- + -ad
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’
ten, century, cent, hundred, dick, dozen, dean, sen, den, diner, hectare, decimal, tenfold, denier, dwt, doyen, deni, 50 more
through Ancient Greek δεκάς ‘group of ten’
Today it means
noun Ten days, especially of rainfall. Generally identified as dekad 1: 1ˢᵗ-10ᵗʰ, dekad 2: 11ᵗʰ-20ᵗʰ, and dekad 3: 21ˢᵗ-last day of each month.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ / dekad