Etymograph

English

climacterium

Climacterium comes from Ancient Greek κλιμακτήρ ‘rung of a ladder’, from κλῑ́νω ‘to bend, lean’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- ‘to incline’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱley-1‘to incline’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱl̥-né-y-ti2‘to lean’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*klíňňō2reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλῑ́νω3klī́nō‘to bend, lean’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλῖμᾰξ4‘ladder’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλιμακτήρ5klimaktḗr‘rung of a ladder’
  7. Englishtodayclimacterium5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *ḱl̥néyti
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κλίνω
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κλῖμαξ
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κλιμακτήρ
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English climacterium

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱley-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *ḱl̥néyti‘to incline’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱl̥-né-y-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek κλίνω‘to lean’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*klíňňōWiktionary, Ancient Greek κλίνωreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλῑ́νωWiktionary, Ancient Greek κλῖμαξklī́nō‘to bend, lean’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλῖμᾰξWiktionary, Ancient Greek κλιμακτήρ‘ladder’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλιμακτήρWiktionary, English climacteriumklimaktḗr‘rung of a ladder’
  7. EnglishtodayclimacteriumWiktionary, English climacterium

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- ‘to incline’

law, low, lean, decline, ladder, lid, inclination, eyelid, incline, clinician, recline, declension, proclivity, declination, 25 more

through Ancient Greek κλῑ́νω ‘to bend, lean’

cline, acclimate, 4 more

Today it means

noun The bodily and mental changes linked to the reproductive and endocrine function in men and women occurring during the latter part of middle age.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “climacterium”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *ḱl̥néyti, Ancient Greek κλίνω, Ancient Greek κλῖμαξ, Ancient Greek κλιμακτήρ. 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 *ḱley- / climacterium

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