Etymograph

English

curculio

Curculio comes from Latin curculiō ‘weevil’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to bend, curve, turn’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to bend, curve, turn’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcurculiō2‘weevil’
  3. mulmodernCurculio2
  4. Englishtodaycurculio2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin curculio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English curculio

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, Latin curculio‘to bend, curve, turn’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcurculiōWiktionary, English curculio‘weevil’
  3. mulmodernCurculioWiktionary, English curculio
  4. EnglishtodaycurculioWiktionary, English curculio

Linked words

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

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

Today it means

noun Any of the genus Curculio of weevils.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “curculio”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin curculio. 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- / curculio

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