English
vertex
Vertex comes from Latin vertex ‘whirl, eddy’, from vertō ‘to turn around, turn about’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-‘to turn, to rotate, spin’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wertō‘to turn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertō‘to turn around, turn about’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertex‘whirl, eddy’
- Englishtodayvertex
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-‘to turn, to rotate, spin’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wertō‘to turn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertō‘to turn around, turn about’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertex‘whirl, eddy’
- Englishtodayvertex
The story
Late Middle English, borrowed from Latin vertex (‘whirl, eddy; top, crown, peak, summit’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn, to rotate, spin’
word, worth, weird, ridiculous, universe, ridicule, derision, wurst, deride, invert, derisive, extraversion, 58 more
through Proto-Italic *wertō ‘to turn’
adverse, diversion, inverse, transverse, inversion, aversion, perverse, averse, perversion, reversion, 41 more
through Latin vertō ‘to turn around, turn about’
university, version, conversation, divorce, diversity, versus, diverse, verse, advertisement, versatile, convertible, adversity, diversification, advert, divert, revert, pervert, vertigo, introvert, avert, subvert, verso, perversity, evert, vertiginous, 50 more
through Latin vertex ‘whirl, eddy’
Today it means
noun The highest point, top or apex of something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wert- / vertex