Etymograph

English

cormophyte

Cormophyte comes from Ancient Greek κορμός ‘trunk stripped of its boughs’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kormós1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκορμός2kormós‘trunk stripped of its boughs’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1940cormophyte2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κορμός
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English cormophyte
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1940, Edgar Nelson Transeau, Homer Cleveland Sampson: “Very careful developmental or anatomical investigation may be required…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κορμός‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kormósWiktionary, Ancient Greek κορμόςreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκορμόςWiktionary, English cormophytekormós‘trunk stripped of its boughs’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1940cormophyteWiktionary, English cormophyte. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1940, Edgar Nelson Transeau, Homer Cleveland Sampson: “Very careful developmental or anatomical investigation may be required…”

Equivalent to cormo- + -phyte

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut’

across, share, short, card, cross, cancer, screen, shirt, circle, circuit, score, crucial, curve, scare, circus, circulation, skirt, carnival, curb, scar, cancellation, scrutiny, shrine, crest, circa, shear, incarceration, shred, carnage, raffle, carcinoma, coronary, shrewd, corona, scorpion, crux, circulate, shard, carnal, cirque, 118 more

Today it means

noun Any plant having a proper stem or axis of growth, which is distinct from its leaves, phyllophyte

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cormophyte”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek κορμός. 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 *(s)ker- / cormophyte

Shirt and support for this word