Etymograph

English

bregma

Bregma comes from Ancient Greek βρέγμα ‘top of the head’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *mregʰ- ‘brain, skull’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mregʰ-1‘brain, skull’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβρέγμα2‘top of the head’
  3. Englishtodaybregma2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βρέγμα
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English bregma

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mregʰ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βρέγμα‘brain, skull’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβρέγμαWiktionary, English bregma‘top of the head’
  3. EnglishtodaybregmaWiktionary, English bregma

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mregʰ- ‘brain, skull’

brain

Today it means

noun The anatomical structure on the skull where the coronal suture and sagittal suture meet.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bregma”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek βρέγμα. 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 *mregʰ- / bregma

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