Etymograph

English

catenane

Catenane comes from Latin catena ‘a chain’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *katesnā.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*katesnā1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcatena2‘a chain’
  3. Englishtodaycatenane2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin catena, which cites Pokorny, Martirosyan
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English catenane

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*katesnāWiktionary, Latin catena, which cites Pokorny, Martirosyanreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcatenaWiktionary, English catenane‘a chain’
  3. EnglishtodaycatenaneWiktionary, English catenane

Linked words

through Latin catena ‘a chain’

chain, 9 more

Today it means

noun Any compound, especially a hydrocarbon, having two or more rings interconnected like the links of a chain, without a covalent bond.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “catenane”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin catena. 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-Italic *katesnā / catenane

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