English
ventricle
Ventricle comes from Latin ventriculus ‘the belly’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wend-tri-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wend-tri-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEventer‘the belly’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEventriculus‘the belly’diminutive of venter
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596ventricle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wend-tri-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEventer‘the belly’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEventriculus‘the belly’diminutive of venter
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596ventricle
Earliest quotation: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, Loues Labour’s Lost: “the ventricle of memory”.
Linked words
through Latin venter ‘the belly’
Today it means
noun Any small cavity within a body; a hollow part or organ, especially: One of two lower chambers of the heart.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wend-tri- / ventricle