English
asymmetric
Asymmetric comes from Ancient Greek ἀσυμμετρία ‘disproportion, deformity’, from σῠ́μμετρος ‘symmetrical’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- ‘to measure’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₁-1‘to measure’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμέτρον2‘measure’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσῠ́μμετρος2‘symmetrical’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσῠμμετρῐ́ᾱ3
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀσυμμετρία4asummetría‘disproportion, deformity’
- Englishtodayasymmetric4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μέτρον
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek συμμετρία
- 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀσυμμετρία
- 4 Wiktionary, English asymmetric
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μέτρον‘to measure’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμέτρονWiktionary, Ancient Greek συμμετρία‘measure’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσῠ́μμετροςWiktionary, Ancient Greek συμμετρία‘symmetrical’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσῠμμετρῐ́ᾱWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀσυμμετρία
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀσυμμετρίαWiktionary, English asymmetricasummetría‘disproportion, deformity’
- EnglishtodayasymmetricWiktionary, English asymmetric
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- ‘to measure’
month, moon, moral, measure, meal, sunny, dimensional, dimension, moody, immense, meta, mesa, parameter, menstrual, commensurate, mensa, centimetre, firman, moodiness, menses, mete, metis, 62 more
through Ancient Greek μέτρον ‘measure’
Today it means
adj Not symmetric.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “asymmetric”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek μέτρον, Ancient Greek συμμετρία, Ancient Greek ἀσυμμετρία. 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 *meh₁- / asymmetric