English
longissimus
Longissimus comes from Latin longus ‘far, long’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dlongʰos‘long’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*(d)longos‘long’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElongusas longissimus‘far, long’
- Englishearliest quotation 1967longissimus
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dlongʰos‘long’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*(d)longos‘long’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElongusas longissimus‘far, long’
- Englishearliest quotation 1967longissimus
Earliest quotation: 1967, University of Missouri - Columbia, Agricultural Experiment Station: “Bull carcasses have greater longissimus muscle area per unit…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos ‘long’
along, longer, length, linger, 15 more
through Latin longus ‘far, long’
longitudinal, longitude, lunge, oblong, elongate, elongation, longe, longus, 8 more
Today it means
noun The muscle lateral to the semispinalis; the longest subdivision of the sacrospinalis that extends forward into the transverse processes of the posterior cervical vertebrae.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos / longissimus