Etymograph

English

cyclamen

Cyclamen comes from Latin cyclamīnos ‘cyclamen, sowbread, Cyclamen hederifolium or…’, from Ancient Greek κύκλος ‘circle, ring’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlos1‘circle, wheel’uncertain
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúklos1‘circle, wheel’uncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύκλος2kúklos‘circle, ring’uncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῠκλᾰ́μῑνος3‘Cyclamen graecum’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcyclamīnos4‘cyclamen, sowbread, Cyclamen hederifolium or Cyclamen repandum’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900cyclamen4
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1940cyclamen4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κυκλάμινος
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin cyclaminos
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English cyclamen
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens: “An expectant mother would avoid cyclamen, stepping over it…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlosWiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος‘circle, wheel’uncertain
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúklosWiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος‘circle, wheel’uncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύκλοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek κυκλάμινοςkúklos‘circle, ring’uncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῠκλᾰ́μῑνοςWiktionary, Latin cyclaminos‘Cyclamen graecum’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcyclamīnosWiktionary, English cyclamen‘cyclamen, sowbread, Cyclamen hederifolium or Cyclamen repandum’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900cyclamenWiktionary, English cyclamen
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1940cyclamenWiktionary, English cyclamen. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens: “An expectant mother would avoid cyclamen, stepping over it…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos ‘circle, wheel’

wheel, chakra, 12 more

through Proto-Hellenic *kúklos ‘circle, wheel’

bicycle, tricycle, encyclical, 6 more

through Ancient Greek κύκλος ‘circle, ring’

cycle, cyclic, kike, 8 more

Today it means

noun Any of various primulaceous flowering plants, of the genus Cyclamen, widely cultivated as a houseplant, having decorative leaves and solitary flowers.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cyclamen”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek κύκλος, Ancient Greek κυκλάμινος, Latin cyclaminos. 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 *kʷékʷlos / cyclamen

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