Etymograph

English

chimney

Chimney comes from Middle English chymeneye ‘a chimney’, from Latin camīnus ‘furnace, forge’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- ‘to bend, to curve’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂em-1‘to bend, to curve’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκάμῑνος1kámīnos‘furnace’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcamīnus1‘furnace, forge’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcamīnāta1‘room with a chimney, living room, parlour’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400cheminee1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chymeneye1‘a chimney’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1881–1882chimney1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English chimney
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island: “Our chimney was a square hole in the roof:…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂em-Wiktionary, English chimney‘to bend, to curve’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκάμῑνοςWiktionary, English chimneykámīnos‘furnace’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcamīnusWiktionary, English chimney‘furnace, forge’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcamīnātaWiktionary, English chimney‘room with a chimney, living room, parlour’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chemineeWiktionary, English chimney
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chymeneyeWiktionary, English chimney‘a chimney’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1881–1882chimneyWiktionary, English chimney. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island: “Our chimney was a square hole in the roof:…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- ‘to bend, to curve’

campaign, camera, campus, champion, chamber, kemp, cabaret, kam, camaraderie, champaign, gam, camber, jamb, cantonment, skimp, gamba, campanile, campagna, chambray, 19 more

Today it means

noun A vertical tube or hollow column used to emit environmentally polluting gaseous and solid matter (including but not limited to by-products of burning carbon- or hydrocarbon-based fuels); a flue.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “chimney”. 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 *kh₂em- / chimney

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