English
cestrum
Cestrum comes from Ancient Greek κέστρον ‘betony’, from κεντέω ‘to prick, goad’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱent- ‘to sting’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱent-1‘to sting’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκεντέω2‘to prick, goad’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκέστρον3késtron‘betony’
- Englishearliest quotation 2016cestrum3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κεντέω
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κέστρον
- 3 Wiktionary, English cestrum
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Joan Hess: “He had identified a cestrum, a malpighia, and a…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱent-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κεντέω‘to sting’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκεντέωWiktionary, Ancient Greek κέστρον‘to prick, goad’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκέστρονWiktionary, English cestrumkéstron‘betony’
- Englishearliest quotation 2016cestrumWiktionary, English cestrum. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Joan Hess: “He had identified a cestrum, a malpighia, and a…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱent- ‘to sting’
through Ancient Greek κεντέω ‘to prick, goad’
Today it means
noun Any member of the genus Cestrum
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cestrum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek κεντέω, Ancient Greek κέστρον. 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 *ḱent- / cestrum