Etymograph

English

cyclus

Cyclus comes from Latin cyclus ‘a circle’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlos1‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúklos1‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύκλος2‘circle’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcyclus3‘a circle’
  5. Englishtodaycyclus3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin cyclus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English cyclus

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlosWiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúklosWiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύκλοςWiktionary, Latin cyclus‘circle’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcyclusWiktionary, English cyclus‘a circle’
  5. EnglishtodaycyclusWiktionary, English cyclus

Linked words

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

wheel, chakra, 11 more

through Proto-Hellenic *kúklos ‘circle, wheel’

encyclical, 5 more

through Ancient Greek κύκλος ‘circle’

bicycle, cyclic, kike, tricycle, cyclamen, 5 more

through Latin cyclus ‘a circle’

cycle, 4 more

Today it means

noun A cycle, or series of poems.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cyclus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek κύκλος, Latin cyclus. 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 / cyclus

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