English
cistella
Cistella comes from Latin cistella ‘diminutive of cista: a small chest or box’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kisteh₂ ‘woven container’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kisteh₂1‘woven container’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκίστη2‘box, chest, casket’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcista3‘a box’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcistula4‘small chest’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcistella3‘diminutive of cista: a small chest or box’
- Englishtodaycistella3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κίστη
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin cista
- 3 Wiktionary, English cistella
- 4 Wiktionary, Latin cistella
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kisteh₂Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κίστη‘woven container’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκίστηWiktionary, Latin cista‘box, chest, casket’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcistaWiktionary, English cistella‘a box’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcistulaWiktionary, Latin cistella‘small chest’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcistellaWiktionary, English cistella‘diminutive of cista: a small chest or box’
- EnglishtodaycistellaWiktionary, English cistella
Linked words
through Latin cista ‘a box’
Today it means
noun The capsular shield of some lichens.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cistella”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek κίστη, Latin cista, Latin cistella. 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 *kisteh₂ / cistella