Etymograph

English

classis

Classis comes from Latin classis ‘any one of the five divisions into which…’, from Proto-Indo-European *klh₁-d⁽ʰ⁾-ti- ‘a call’, and ultimately from *kelh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-1‘to call, shout’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*klh₁-d⁽ʰ⁾-ti-1‘a call’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klāssis1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclassis2‘any one of the five divisions into which Servius Tullius divided the Roman citizenry’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1702–1704classis2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin classis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English classis
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, Begun in the Year 1641. […]: “[…]declared his own opinion of that classis of men.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-Wiktionary, Latin classis‘to call, shout’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*klh₁-d⁽ʰ⁾-ti-Wiktionary, Latin classis‘a call’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klāssisWiktionary, Latin classisreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclassisWiktionary, English classis‘any one of the five divisions into which Servius Tullius divided the Roman citizenry’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1702–1704classisWiktionary, English classis. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, Begun in the Year 1641. […]: “[…]declared his own opinion of that classis of men.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‘to call, shout’

low, hell, clear, claim, calendar, haul, reconciliation, declare, claire, clarity, reconcile, clarification, proclamation, reclamation, squeal, exclamation, clarinet, irreconcilable, clarion, claret, clamour, clamor, conciliar, ecclesial, ecclesiastic, 38 more

Today it means

noun A class or order; sort; type; kind.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “classis”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin classis. 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 *kelh₁- / classis

Shirt and support for this word