Etymograph

English

apsis

Apsis comes from Latin apsis ‘arch, vault’, from Ancient Greek ᾰ̔́πτω ‘to fasten to’, and ultimately from Proto-Hellenic *áptō.

  1. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*áptō1reconstructedearlier origin unknown
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̔́πτω2‘to fasten to’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἁψίς3hapsís‘arch, vault’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapsis3‘arch, vault’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2019apsis3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἅπτω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἁψίς
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English apsis
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, A Companion to Medieval Lübeck: “Like Henry's collegiate church […] the cathedral is a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*áptōWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἅπτωreconstructedearlier origin unknown
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̔́πτωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἁψίς‘to fasten to’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἁψίςWiktionary, English apsishapsís‘arch, vault’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapsisWiktionary, English apsis‘arch, vault’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2019apsisWiktionary, English apsis. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, A Companion to Medieval Lübeck: “Like Henry's collegiate church […] the cathedral is a…”

Linked words

through Proto-Hellenic *áptō

synaptic, synapse, haptic, 16 more

through Latin apsis ‘arch, vault’

apse

Today it means

noun A recess or projection, with a dome or vault, at the east end of a church.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “apsis”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ἅπτω, Ancient Greek ἁψίς. 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-Hellenic *áptō / apsis

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