Etymograph

English

Ceres

Ceres comes from Latin Cerēs, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- ‘to grow, to nourish’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-1‘to grow, to nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerēs1reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*Kerēs1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CECerēs1
  5. EnglishtodayCeres1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English Ceres

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-Wiktionary, English Ceres‘to grow, to nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerēsWiktionary, English Ceresreconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*KerēsWiktionary, English Ceresreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CECerēsWiktionary, English Ceres
  5. EnglishtodayCeresWiktionary, English Ceres

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- ‘to grow, to nourish’

increase, create, increasing, creative, crew, creator, decrease, creature, crescent, creole, croissant, increment, cru, excrement, accretion, procreation, kore, creat, 26 more

through Latin Cerēs

cereal, 1 more

Today it means

name The Roman goddess of agriculture; equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “Ceres”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- / Ceres

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