Etymograph

English

cricoid

Cricoid comes from New Latin cricoīdēs, from Ancient Greek κρῐκοειδής ‘ring-shaped, annular’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to bend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to bend’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῐ́ρκος2as κρίκος‘ring’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρῐκοειδής2krĭkoeidḗs‘ring-shaped, annular’
  4. New Latinc. 1500–1900cricoīdēs2
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1972cricoid2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κίρκος
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English cricoid
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1972, Владимир Набоков, Transparent Things: “What luck that Mr. Romeo still gripped and twisted…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κίρκος‘to bend’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῐ́ρκοςWiktionary, English cricoidas κρίκος‘ring’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρῐκοειδήςWiktionary, English cricoidkrĭkoeidḗs‘ring-shaped, annular’
  4. New Latinc. 1500–1900cricoīdēsWiktionary, English cricoid
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1972cricoidWiktionary, English cricoid. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1972, Владимир Набоков, Transparent Things: “What luck that Mr. Romeo still gripped and twisted…”

Linked words

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

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

Today it means

adj Of, relating to, or being a cricoid cartilage.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cricoid”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek κίρκος. 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- / cricoid

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