Etymograph

English

apetalous

Apetalous comes from New Latin āpetalus, from Ancient Greek ᾱ̓πέτᾰλος ‘stripped of leaves, aphyllous, leafless’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to spread out’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-1‘to spread out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂lom1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pétalon1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέτᾰλον2‘leaf’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾱ̓πέτᾰλος3‘stripped of leaves, aphyllous, leafless’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900āpetalus4
  7. Englishtodayapetalous4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πέταλον
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀπέταλος
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin apetalus
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English apetalous

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πέταλον‘to spread out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂lomWiktionary, Ancient Greek πέταλονreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pétalonWiktionary, Ancient Greek πέταλονreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέτᾰλονWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀπέταλος‘leaf’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾱ̓πέτᾰλοςWiktionary, Latin apetalus‘stripped of leaves, aphyllous, leafless’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900āpetalusWiktionary, English apetalous
  7. EnglishtodayapetalousWiktionary, English apetalous

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to spread out’

pass, mile, expansion, expand, repeat, patent, pen, helicopter, compete, petition, feather, symptom, competitor, spawn, expanse, perpetual, perpetuate, impetus, pennant, patina, pinion, perpetuity, patella, petulant, pata, penna, impetuous, petulance, 82 more

Today it means

adj Having no petals.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “apetalous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πέταλον, Ancient Greek ἀπέταλος, Latin apetalus. 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 *peth₂- / apetalous

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