English
operculum
Operculum comes from Latin operculum ‘cover, covering’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *opweriō.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opweriōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperiō‘to cover’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperculum‘cover, covering’
- Englishearliest quotation 1900same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opweriōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperiō‘to cover’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperculum‘cover, covering’
- Englishearliest quotation 1900same form
Earliest quotation: 1900, – 1901 August, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells: “I lifted the circular operculum from its place and…”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *opweriō
through Latin operiō ‘to cover’
Today it means
noun A covering flap in animals and insects, such as a gill cover or the lid of nits.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *opweriō / operculum