English
anacyclic
Anacyclic comes from French anacyclique, from cyclique ‘cyclic, cyclical’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos ‘circle, wheel’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlos1‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúklos1‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύκλος2‘circle, ring’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκυκλῐκός3‘circular’
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcyclicus4‘of a cycle, cyclic’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cyclique4
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcyclique5‘cyclic, cyclical’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentanacyclique6
- Englishtodayanacyclic6
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κυκλικός
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin cyclicus
- 4 Wiktionary, French cyclique
- 5 Wiktionary, French anacyclique
- 6 Wiktionary, English anacyclic
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlosWiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúklosWiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύκλοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek κυκλικός‘circle, ring’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκυκλῐκόςWiktionary, Latin cyclicus‘circular’
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcyclicusWiktionary, French cyclique‘of a cycle, cyclic’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cycliqueWiktionary, French cyclique
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcycliqueWiktionary, French anacyclique‘cyclic, cyclical’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentanacycliqueWiktionary, English anacyclic
- EnglishtodayanacyclicWiktionary, English anacyclic
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos ‘circle, wheel’
through Proto-Hellenic *kúklos ‘circle, wheel’
through Ancient Greek κύκλος ‘circle, ring’
Today it means
adj palindromic
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “anacyclic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek κύκλος, Ancient Greek κυκλικός, Latin cyclicus, French cyclique, French anacyclique. 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 *kʷékʷlos / anacyclic