Etymograph

English

ancho

Ancho comes from Spanish (chile) ancho ‘poblano pepper’, from ancho ‘wide’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₁-1‘to fill’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl̥h₁nós1‘full’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plēnos1‘full’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplēnus1‘full’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEambiplus1uncertain
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamplus1‘large, spacious, roomy’
  7. Spanishc. 1500–presentancho2‘wide’
  8. Spanishc. 1500–present(chile) ancho3‘poblano pepper’literally ‘wide chile’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2009ancho3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Spanish ancho
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Spanish chile ancho
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English ancho
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Fire-roasted hot chili: “Add stock, tomato sauce, beans, roasted red pepper, garlic,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₁-Wiktionary, Spanish ancho‘to fill’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl̥h₁nósWiktionary, Spanish ancho‘full’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*plēnosWiktionary, Spanish ancho‘full’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplēnusWiktionary, Spanish ancho‘full’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEambiplusWiktionary, Spanish anchouncertain
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamplusWiktionary, Spanish ancho‘large, spacious, roomy’
  7. Spanishc. 1500–presentanchoWiktionary, Spanish chile ancho‘wide’
  8. Spanishc. 1500–present(chile) anchoWiktionary, English ancho‘poblano pepper’literally ‘wide chile’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2009anchoWiktionary, English ancho. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Fire-roasted hot chili: “Add stock, tomato sauce, beans, roasted red pepper, garlic,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’

people, public, complete, popular, plus, supply, poll, completion, folk, implement, accomplish, comply, supplement, complement, manipulation, plural, depletion, plethora, replete, puri, deplete, plebs, volk, plebeian, 74 more

through Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós ‘full’

full, fill, fulsome, 20 more

through Latin plēnus ‘full’

plenty, plain, plenary, replenish, plenum, 14 more

through Latin amplus ‘large, spacious, roomy’

ample, amplitude, amplify, 5 more

Today it means

noun A broad, flat, dried poblano pepper, often ground into a powder.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ancho”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Spanish ancho, Spanish chile ancho. 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 *pleh₁- / ancho

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