English
isostasy
Isostasy comes from Ancient Greek στάσις ‘a standing’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-‘to stand’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stéh₂tis‘standing, position’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*státis‘standing’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστάσιςstásis‘a standing’
- Englishearliest quotation 2003isostasy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-‘to stand’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stéh₂tis‘standing, position’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*státis‘standing’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστάσιςstásis‘a standing’
- Englishearliest quotation 2003isostasy
Earliest quotation: 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything: “The process of vertical movement, known as isostasy, was…”
Formed from iso
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand’
state, system, rest, post, stay, stand, constitution, stood, contest, distance, stadium, instance, consistent, destination, stable, assistant, stem, establishment, testimony, destiny, assistance, stability, establish, instant, substance, assist, resist, static, distant, insist, persistent, consist, stud, prostitution, stationary, stool, prostitute, substitution, persist, attest, 154 more
through Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂tis ‘standing, position’
through Proto-Hellenic *státis ‘standing’
through Ancient Greek στάσις ‘a standing’
Today it means
noun The state of balance or pressure equilibrium thought to exist within the Earth's crust, whereby the upper lithosphere floats on denser magma beneath.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- / isostasy