Etymograph

English

cyma

Cyma comes from New Latin cȳma ‘young sprout or shoot of cabbage’, from Ancient Greek κύω ‘to conceive, to become pregnant’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-1‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱuh₁éyeti1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύω2kúō‘to conceive, to become pregnant’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῦμα2kûma‘swell, wave”, “cyma”, “sprout of a plant’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900cȳma2‘young sprout or shoot of cabbage’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1886cyma2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κύω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English cyma
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1886, – 1887 April, Thomas Hardy: “[…] while the double-cyma or classical curve of his…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κύω‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱuh₁éyetiWiktionary, Ancient Greek κύωreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύωWiktionary, English cymakúō‘to conceive, to become pregnant’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῦμαWiktionary, English cymakûma‘swell, wave”, “cyma”, “sprout of a plant’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900cȳmaWiktionary, English cyma‘young sprout or shoot of cabbage’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1886cymaWiktionary, English cyma. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1886, – 1887 April, Thomas Hardy: “[…] while the double-cyma or classical curve of his…”

The story

Most English coinages on this root are formed on its short stem, κῡμ- (kūm-). The fact that the Ancient Greek etymon only inflects as a third-declension neuter noun has led some writers to prescribe forms that preserve the root’s long stem, κῡματ- (kūmat-), for philological reasons (see, for example, the 1903 and 1908 citations of cymatoscope), but such forms are rare. Latinate phrases that include cyma, namely cyma inversa, cyma recta, and cyma reversa, show that, when employed as a Latin word, cȳma is treated as a first-declension feminine noun rather than as third-declension neuter consonant-stem noun. There are several Classical precedents, both from Latin and from Ancient Greek, for formations on the short stem (κῡμ- (kūm-)) of this root, although formations on the long stem (κῡματ- (kūmat-)) are more common in Ancient Greek; consequently, whereas formations on the long stem may be preferable, especially when combined with other Ancient Greek elements, formations on the short stem are by no means incorrect.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’

church, jail, cave, cage, kirk, cavity, excavation, hound, gaol, excavate, cumulus, cajole, caul, cavil, 40 more

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱuh₁éyeti

cyst, 12 more

Today it means

noun The wavelike, curved shape of a cymatium, consisting of a concave and a convex line; (loosely) the cymatium itself.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cyma”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek κύω. 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 *ḱewh₁- / cyma

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