English
cervelat
Cervelat comes from Middle French cervelat, from Latin cerebellum ‘a little brain’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-1reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂srom1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kerazrom1‘brain’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcerebrum2‘brain’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcerebellum2‘a little brain’diminutive of cerebrum
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cervelat2
- Alemannic GermanmodernCervelat2
- Englishtodaycervelat2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin cerebrum
- 2 Wiktionary, English cervelat
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-Wiktionary, Latin cerebrumreconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂sromWiktionary, Latin cerebrumreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kerazromWiktionary, Latin cerebrum‘brain’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcerebrumWiktionary, English cervelat‘brain’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcerebellumWiktionary, English cervelat‘a little brain’diminutive of cerebrum
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cervelatWiktionary, English cervelat
- Alemannic GermanmodernCervelatWiktionary, English cervelat
- EnglishtodaycervelatWiktionary, English cervelat
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-
horn, hart, cheer, grail, migraine, corny, crater, cornea, carotid, cairn, cornet, cranium, procrastinate, keratin, rother, 50 more
through Latin cerebrum ‘brain’
through Latin cerebellum ‘a little brain’
Today it means
noun A Swiss smoked sausage made with pork or beef.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cervelat”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin cerebrum. 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 *ḱerh₂- / cervelat