Etymograph

English

consonancy

Consonancy comes from Latin cōnsonāns ‘agreeing, fit, suitable’, from cōnsonō ‘to resound’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swenh₂-1‘to sound, resound’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swonh₂éyeti1reconstructediterative present of *swenh₂-
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*swonaō1‘to sound, resound’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonō2‘sound, resound’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsonō3‘to resound’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsonāns4as cōnsonantia‘agreeing, fit, suitable’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602consonancy4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sono
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin consono
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin consonans
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English consonancy
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “But let me conjure you, by the rights of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swenh₂-Wiktionary, Latin sono‘to sound, resound’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swonh₂éyetiWiktionary, Latin sonoreconstructediterative present of *swenh₂-
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*swonaōWiktionary, Latin sono‘to sound, resound’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonōWiktionary, Latin consono‘sound, resound’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsonōWiktionary, Latin consonans‘to resound’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsonānsWiktionary, English consonancyas cōnsonantia‘agreeing, fit, suitable’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602consonancyWiktionary, English consonancy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “But let me conjure you, by the rights of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *swenh₂- ‘to sound, resound’

sound, swan, unison, sonnet, sone, 10 more

through Proto-Italic *swonaō ‘to sound, resound’

impersonal, 6 more

through Latin sonō ‘sound, resound’

re, personal, personnel, resonance, resonate, resonant, parson, resound, sonorous, 7 more

Today it means

noun Congruity; consistency.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “consonancy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin sono, Latin consono, Latin consonans. 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 *swenh₂- / consonancy

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