English
sternum
Sternum comes from New Latin sternum ‘the breastbone’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃- ‘to be broad, spread out’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sterh₃-‘to be broad, spread out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stér(h₃)-no-mreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστέρνονstérnon‘breast, chest’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900sternum‘the breastbone’
- Englishearliest quotation 2020same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sterh₃-‘to be broad, spread out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stér(h₃)-no-mreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστέρνονstérnon‘breast, chest’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900sternum‘the breastbone’
- Englishearliest quotation 2020same form
Earliest quotation: 2020, Akwaeke Emezi, The Death of Vivek Oji: “The neckline fell into a V, showing the bone…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃- ‘to be broad, spread out’
street, straw, strand, prostrate, stratum, stratus, stroma, 10 more
Today it means
noun The breastbone, consisting of the manubrium, gladiolus, and xiphoid process.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃- / sternum