Etymograph

English

cancellation

Cancellation comes from Latin cancellō ‘to make like a lattice, cover with a lattice…’, from cancer ‘crab’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to turn, bend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to turn, bend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kr-kr-1‘circular’reconstructedreduplication of *(s)ker-
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karkros1‘enclosure’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kankros1‘enclosure, fence’reconstructeddissimilation of *karkros
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancer2‘crab’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancellus3‘lattice, grating’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancellō4‘to make like a lattice, cover with a lattice or grid’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancellātiō4
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2022cancellation4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin cancer
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin cancellus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin cancello
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English cancellation
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2022, Nigel Harris, Comment: Unhappy start to 2022: “Then, in January, a creeping tsunami of train cancellations,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, Latin cancer‘to turn, bend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kr-kr-Wiktionary, Latin cancer‘circular’reconstructedreduplication of *(s)ker-
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karkrosWiktionary, Latin cancer‘enclosure’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kankrosWiktionary, Latin cancer‘enclosure, fence’reconstructeddissimilation of *karkros
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancerWiktionary, Latin cancellus‘crab’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancellusWiktionary, Latin cancello‘lattice, grating’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancellōWiktionary, English cancellation‘to make like a lattice, cover with a lattice or grid’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancellātiōWiktionary, English cancellation
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2022cancellationWiktionary, English cancellation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2022, Nigel Harris, Comment: Unhappy start to 2022: “Then, in January, a creeping tsunami of train cancellations,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to turn, bend’

short, across, share, cross, card, screen, score, shirt, circle, circuit, crucial, curve, circus, skirt, scare, curb, shrine, carnival, crest, scrutiny, scar, circa, shear, circulation, shred, coronary, corona, raffle, carnage, scorn, shrewd, scorpion, crux, carcinoma, shard, cirque, circulate, crepe, corolla, corgi, 114 more

through Latin cancer ‘crab’

cancerous, canker, chancellery, 6 more

through Latin cancellus ‘lattice, grating’

chancel, 3 more

Today it means

noun The act, process, or result of cancelling; as, the cancellation of certain words in a contract, or of the contract itself.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cancellation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin cancer, Latin cancellus, Latin cancello. 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 *(s)ker- / cancellation

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