Etymograph

English

concentric

Concentric comes from Medieval Latin concentricus, from Latin centrum ‘circle, center’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱéntrom ‘pointed tool’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱéntrom1‘pointed tool’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kéntron1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκέντρον2‘sharp point’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcentrum3‘circle, center’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500concentricus3
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600concentrique3
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500concentrik3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2020concentric3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κέντρον
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin centrum
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English concentric
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Tim Dunn, Great railway bores of our time!: “Seven huge concentric semi-circular rings of stone surround the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱéntromWiktionary, Ancient Greek κέντρον‘pointed tool’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kéntronWiktionary, Ancient Greek κέντρονreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκέντρονWiktionary, Latin centrum‘sharp point’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcentrumWiktionary, English concentric‘circle, center’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500concentricusWiktionary, English concentric
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600concentriqueWiktionary, English concentric
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500concentrikWiktionary, English concentric
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2020concentricWiktionary, English concentric. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Tim Dunn, Great railway bores of our time!: “Seven huge concentric semi-circular rings of stone surround the…”

Linked words

through Ancient Greek κέντρον ‘sharp point’

kendra, eccentric, alcantara, cento, centrale, 15 more

through Latin centrum ‘circle, center’

center, central, centre, centrum, 1 more

Today it means

adj Having a common center.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “concentric”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek κέντρον, Latin centrum. 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 *ḱéntrom / concentric

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