English
hemisphere
Hemisphere comes from Ancient Greek ἡμισφαίριον, from σφαῖρα ‘sphere’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sperH- ‘to kick, rebound, move convulsively’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sperH-‘to kick, rebound, move convulsively’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσφαῖραsphaîra‘sphere’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἡμισφαίριονhēmisphaírion
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhemisphaerium
- Englishearliest quotation 1831hemisphere
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sperH-‘to kick, rebound, move convulsively’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσφαῖραsphaîra‘sphere’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἡμισφαίριονhēmisphaírion
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhemisphaerium
- Englishearliest quotation 1831hemisphere
Earliest quotation: 1831, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Romance and Reality. […]: “Love is the Columbus of our moral world, and…”
Proto-Indo-European *sperH- ‘to kick, rebound, move convulsively’
…
Latin sphaera ‘ball, globe, celestial sphere’
Late Latin sphēra
Old French sphere ‘sphere (shape)’
Middle English spere ‘the cosmos, outer space’
English sphere
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sperH- ‘to kick, rebound, move convulsively’
Today it means
noun Half of the celestial sphere, as divided by either the ecliptic or the celestial equator .
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sperH- / hemisphere