English
dendrite
Dendrite comes from Ancient Greek δενδρίτης ‘of or pertaining to a tree’, and goes back to δένδρον.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδένδρον‘tree’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEδενδρίτηςdendrítēs‘of or pertaining to a tree’
- Englishearliest quotation 1970dendrite
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδένδρον‘tree’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEδενδρίτηςdendrítēs‘of or pertaining to a tree’
- Englishearliest quotation 1970dendrite
Earliest quotation: 1970, Saul Bellow, Mr. Sammler’s Planet: “Little copses of television antennas. Whiplike, graceful thrilling metal…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dóru ‘tree’
Today it means
noun A slender projection of a nerve cell which conducts nerve impulses from a synapse to the body of the cell; a dendron.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek δένδρον / dendrite