Etymograph

English

catabolism

Catabolism comes from Ancient Greek καταβολή ‘throwing down’, and goes back to κᾰτᾰβάλλω.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰτᾰβάλλω1kătăbállō‘to throw down, cast down’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαταβολή1katabolḗ‘throwing down’
  3. Englishtodaycatabolism1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English catabolism

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰτᾰβάλλωWiktionary, English catabolismkătăbállō‘to throw down, cast down’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαταβολήWiktionary, English catabolismkatabolḗ‘throwing down’
  3. EnglishtodaycatabolismWiktionary, English catabolism

A compound of κᾰτᾰ́ ‘against’ + κατα- + βάλλω ‘to throw, cast, hurl’

Proto-Indo-European *ḱe ‘Deictic particle, here’

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘beside, near, by, with’

Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥-th₂

Proto-Hellenic *kətá

Ancient Greek κᾰτᾰ́ ‘against’

Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to throw, reach, pierce’

Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō

Ancient Greek βάλλω ‘to throw, cast, hurl’

Every English word from Ancient Greek κᾰτᾰβάλλω

Today it means

noun Destructive (lytic) metabolism or metabolization, usually including the release of energy and breakdown of materials.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “catabolism”. 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 / Ancient Greek κᾰτᾰβάλλω / catabolism

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