English
biceps
Biceps may come from Latin biceps ‘double-headed, two-peaked’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbiceps1‘double-headed, two-peaked’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1901biceps1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English biceps
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1901, Michael Foster, Lewis E. Shore: “The leg is bent by the action of the…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbicepsWiktionary, English biceps‘double-headed, two-peaked’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1901bicepsWiktionary, English biceps. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1901, Michael Foster, Lewis E. Shore: “The leg is bent by the action of the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ‘two’
two, doubt, twin, dual, vice, duo, vicious, duet, twain, dubious, disparate, twig, bes, deuce, 21 more
through Proto-Indo-European *dwís ‘in two, twice, doubly’
defeat, diplomacy, betwixt, 12 more
through Proto-Italic *dwis ‘twice’
through Latin bis ‘twice’
Today it means
noun Any muscle having two heads.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “biceps”. 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 / Latin biceps / biceps