English
gyre
Gyre comes from Latin gȳrus ‘circle’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gew- ‘to bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gew-‘to bend’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγῦροςgûros‘circle’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgȳrus‘circle’
- Englishearliest quotation 1700gyre
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gew-‘to bend’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγῦροςgûros‘circle’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgȳrus‘circle’
- Englishearliest quotation 1700gyre
Earliest quotation: 1700, John Dryden, Meleager and Atalanta, out of the Eighth Book of Ovid’s Meta: “Quick, and more quick he ſpins in giddy Gires,…”
The story
The English word is a doublet of gyro and gyrus.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gew- ‘to bend’
cap, cop, cock, cod, cub, kiosk, guttural, kibble, cudgel, 11 more
through Latin gȳrus ‘circle’
Another origin of gyre
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gew-‘to bend, curve’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγῦροςgûros‘ring’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgȳrus‘circle’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgȳrō‘to turn in a circle, rotate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgȳrārepresent active infinitive of gȳrō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400girer‘to turn’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500giren‘to turn (something) away’
- Englishtodaygyre
Today it means
noun A swirling vortex.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gew- / gyre