English
cantilena
Cantilena comes from Latin cantilēna ‘song, melody’, from canō ‘sing’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-1‘to sing’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂n-é-ti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanō1‘to sing’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanō2‘sing’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcantilēna3‘song, melody’
- Englishearliest quotation 1964cantilena3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin cano
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin cantilena
- 3 Wiktionary, English cantilena
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1964, Anthony Burgess: “He played a lazy tune that sinuated from C…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-Wiktionary, Latin cano‘to sing’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂n-é-tiWiktionary, Latin canoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanōWiktionary, Latin cano‘to sing’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanōWiktionary, Latin cantilena‘sing’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcantilēnaWiktionary, English cantilena‘song, melody’
- Englishearliest quotation 1964cantilenaWiktionary, English cantilena. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1964, Anthony Burgess: “He played a lazy tune that sinuated from C…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- ‘to sing’
through Proto-Italic *kanō ‘to sing’
chanting, enchantment, chantry, enchant, chanter, 43 more
through Latin canō ‘sing’
accent, incentive, chant, bazooka, cantor, shanty, chanson, incantation, recant, 48 more
Today it means
noun A vocal melody or instrumental passage in a smooth, lyrical style.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cantilena”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin cano, Latin cantilena. 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 *keh₂n- / cantilena