Etymograph

English

cistula

Cistula comes from Latin cistula ‘diminutive of cista: a small chest’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kisteh₂ ‘woven container’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kisteh₂1‘woven container’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκίστη2kístē‘box, chest, casket’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcista2‘a trunk, a chest, a casket’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcistula3‘diminutive of cista: a small chest’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1829cistula3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κίστη
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin cistula
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English cistula
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, The London Encyclopaedia: “Let us now, however, point out how to make…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kisteh₂Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κίστη‘woven container’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκίστηWiktionary, Latin cistulakístē‘box, chest, casket’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcistaWiktionary, Latin cistula‘a trunk, a chest, a casket’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcistulaWiktionary, English cistula‘diminutive of cista: a small chest’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1829cistulaWiktionary, English cistula. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, The London Encyclopaedia: “Let us now, however, point out how to make…”

Linked words

through Latin cista ‘a trunk, a chest, a casket’

chest, cistern, kist, 3 more

Today it means

noun A little box or chest.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cistula”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek κίστη, Latin cistula. 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 / cistula

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