English
alvine
Alvine comes from Latin alvus ‘belly’, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewlós ‘something hollow, hollowed out’, and ultimately from *h₂el-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-1root named by Wiktionary
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ewlós2‘something hollow, hollowed out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aulos2reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalvus1‘belly’
- Englishearliest quotation 1829alvine1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English alvine
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin alvus
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Henri Milne-Edwards, Tonic Substances: “Should the dose of bark [of Cinchona trees] be…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-Wiktionary, English alvineroot named by Wiktionary
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ewlósWiktionary, Latin alvus‘something hollow, hollowed out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aulosWiktionary, Latin alvusreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalvusWiktionary, English alvine‘belly’
- Englishearliest quotation 1829alvineWiktionary, English alvine. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Henri Milne-Edwards, Tonic Substances: “Should the dose of bark [of Cinchona trees] be…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-
as, all, old, else, adult, el, ultimate, element, ultra, elder, ellen, alien, alternate, outrage, alter, ou, qualification, altitude, alumni, adolescent, altar, abolish, alt, alias, alto, proletariat, alum, auld, retaliate, alpine, ulterior, alimony, alibi, altruism, alp, parallax, coalesce, aad, eld, foetal, 66 more
Today it means
adj Of or pertaining to the belly or intestines.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “alvine”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin alvus. 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 *h₂el- / alvine