Etymograph

English

oral

Oral comes from Late Latin ōrālis, from Latin ōs ‘the mouth’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃éh₁os.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃éh₁osreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ōs‘mouth’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEōs‘the mouth’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEōrālis
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2009oral

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃éh₁osreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ōs‘mouth’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEōs‘the mouth’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEōrālis
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2009oral

Earliest quotation: 2009, Donald G. Mcneil Jr., After a Stroke, Freeing Muscles With Botox: “And most neurologists are in the habit of prescribing…”

Linked words

through Latin ōs ‘the mouth’

os, regatta, 18 more

Today it means

adj Relating to the mouth.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃éh₁os / oral

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