English
fibula
Fibula comes from Latin fībula ‘buckle, clasp, pin’, from fīvō ‘to fix, fasten, thrust in’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéygʷeti.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéygʷetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*feigʷō‘to fasten’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīvō‘to fix, fasten, thrust in’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfībula‘buckle, clasp, pin’
- Englishearliest quotation 1949fibula
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéygʷetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*feigʷō‘to fasten’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīvō‘to fix, fasten, thrust in’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfībula‘buckle, clasp, pin’
- Englishearliest quotation 1949fibula
Earliest quotation: 1949, N. P. Toll, Fibulae: “Most of the fibulae have a triangular molding above…”
The story
The bone is so named because the shape it makes with the tibia resembles a clasp, the fibula being the pin.
Linked words
through Latin fīvō ‘to fix, fasten, thrust in’
Today it means
noun An ancient kind of brooch used to hold clothing together, similar in function to the modern safety pin.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰéygʷeti / fibula