Etymograph

English

catabasion

Catabasion comes from Ancient Greek καταβάσιον ‘a way down’, from κατάβασις ‘descent’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come, to step’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-1‘to come, to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷm̥yéti2‘to come’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəňňō2reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβαίνω3‘to go’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαταβαίνω4‘to step down, to go or come down’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκατάβασις5‘descent’
  7. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαταβάσιον5katabásion‘a way down’
  8. Englishtodaycatabasion5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βαίνω
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek καταβαίνω
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κατάβασις
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English catabasion

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti‘to come, to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷm̥yétiWiktionary, Ancient Greek βαίνω‘to come’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəňňōWiktionary, Ancient Greek βαίνωreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβαίνωWiktionary, Ancient Greek καταβαίνω‘to go’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαταβαίνωWiktionary, Ancient Greek κατάβασις‘to step down, to go or come down’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκατάβασιςWiktionary, English catabasion‘descent’
  7. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαταβάσιονWiktionary, English catabasionkatabásion‘a way down’
  8. EnglishtodaycatabasionWiktionary, English catabasion

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- ‘to come, to step’

come, coming, base, revenue, basic, basis, venue, cum, convenience, bass, pug, contravention, misadventure, quim, 53 more

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti ‘to come’

event, adventure, avenue, convention, inventory, advent, intervene, inventor, invent, souvenir, provenance, convene, revenant, contravene, circumvention, 32 more

through Ancient Greek βαίνω ‘to go’

diabetes, acrobat, 10 more

Today it means

noun A vault under the altar of a Greek church.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “catabasion”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti, Ancient Greek βαίνω, Ancient Greek καταβαίνω, Ancient Greek κατάβασις. 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 *gʷem- / catabasion

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