Etymograph

English

anomal

Anomal comes from French anomal ‘anomalous’, from Ancient Greek ὁμᾰλός ‘even, level’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘together, one’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-1‘together, one’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-h₂-lo-s1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὁμᾰλός2‘even, level’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀνώμαλος3‘uneven, irregular, anomalous’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanōmalos3‘deviating from the general rule, irregular, anomalous, abnormal, exceptional’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentanomal4‘anomalous’
  7. Englishtodayanomal4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὁμαλός
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀνώμαλος
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French anomal
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English anomal

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὁμαλός‘together, one’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-h₂-lo-sWiktionary, Ancient Greek ὁμαλόςreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὁμᾰλόςWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀνώμαλος‘even, level’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀνώμαλοςWiktionary, French anomal‘uneven, irregular, anomalous’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanōmalosWiktionary, French anomal‘deviating from the general rule, irregular, anomalous, abnormal, exceptional’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentanomalWiktionary, English anomal‘anomalous’
  7. EnglishtodayanomalWiktionary, English anomal

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘together, one’

some, same, single, similar, seem, simple, simply, soft, sam, simulation, sincerely, singular, resemble, assemble, simulate, resemblance, simultaneous, sincerity, assimilate, semblance, synapse, homeopathic, insincere, hyphen, homology, simile, simulacrum, sempre, synchronise, homolog, 47 more

Today it means

noun Something anomalous, especially an irregular word in a language.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “anomal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ὁμαλός, Ancient Greek ἀνώμαλος, French anomal. 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 *sem- / anomal

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