Etymograph

English

caenogenesis

Caenogenesis comes from Ancient Greek καινός ‘new’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ken-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ken-1‘new, fresh’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kn̥-yós1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kəňňós1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαινός2kainós‘new’
  5. Englishtodaycaenogenesis2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek καινός
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English caenogenesis

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ken-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek καινός‘new, fresh’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kn̥-yósWiktionary, Ancient Greek καινόςreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kəňňósWiktionary, Ancient Greek καινόςreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαινόςWiktionary, English caenogenesiskainós‘new’
  5. EnglishtodaycaenogenesisWiktionary, English caenogenesis

first attested First attested in 1909 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in 1909.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ken- ‘new, fresh’

recent, nod, incinerate, nosh, recency, cinerea, nookie, 19 more

Today it means

noun The embryotic development of structures or characteristics not present in the species before.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “caenogenesis”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek καινός. 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 *ken- / caenogenesis

Shirt and support for this word