Etymograph

English

astatine

Astatine comes from Ancient Greek ἄστατος ‘unstable’, from ῐ̔́στημῐ ‘to stand’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-1‘to stand up’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stísteh₂ti2‘to be standing up, to be getting up’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hístāmi2‘to stand’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῐ̔́στημῐ3‘to stand’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄστατος4ástatos‘unstable’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2003astatine4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἵστημι
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄστατος
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English astatine
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything: “Astatine, for instance, is practically unstudied. It has a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti‘to stand up’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stísteh₂tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἵστημι‘to be standing up, to be getting up’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hístāmiWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἵστημι‘to stand’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῐ̔́στημῐWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄστατος‘to stand’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄστατοςWiktionary, English astatineástatos‘unstable’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2003astatineWiktionary, English astatine. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything: “Astatine, for instance, is practically unstudied. It has a…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand up’

post, state, rest, stay, stand, distance, stood, contest, stadium, constitution, establishment, establish, stable, instance, stem, stability, substance, testimony, distant, instant, destination, destiny, stud, prostitution, stool, prostitute, substitution, extant, stationary, stale, stead, distal, attest, stamina, stow, testimonial, destitute, astute, oust, detest, 137 more

through Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti ‘to be standing up, to be getting up’

consistent, assistant, assistance, assist, resist, consist, persistent, insist, persist, subsistence, armistice, desist, solstice, metastatic, existentialist, hydrostatic, 30 more

through Proto-Hellenic *hístāmi ‘to stand’

system, static, histone, stater, 26 more

Today it means

noun A highly radioactive chemical element (symbol At), one of the halogens, with atomic number 85.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “astatine”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti, Ancient Greek ἵστημι, Ancient Greek ἄστατος. 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 *steh₂- / astatine

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