English
spathe
Spathe comes from Latin spatha ‘spatula, spattle’, from Ancient Greek σπάθη ‘blade’, and ultimately from Proto-Hellenic *spátʰā.
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spátʰā‘blade’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάθηspáthē‘blade’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspatha‘spatula, spattle’
- Englishearliest quotation 1869spathe
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spátʰā‘blade’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάθηspáthē‘blade’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspatha‘spatula, spattle’
- Englishearliest quotation 1869spathe
Earliest quotation: 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago: “All the joints and angles are coffered with strips…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
do, fact, deal, hot, fair, defense, fan, benefit, fashion, mid, feature, defence, custom, sufficient, treasury, treasure, ethnic, theme, defendant, feast, ethical, doom, tick, deed, dis, aesthetic, synthetic, thesis, theology, auditorium, auditor, demi, deem, forfeit, feral, ethic, familial, medial, medallion, prefect, 126 more
through Latin spatha ‘spatula, spattle’
Today it means
noun A large bract that envelops or subtends a whole inflorescence, typically a spadix.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Hellenic *spátʰā / spathe