English
cynanche
Cynanche comes from Latin cy̆nanchē ‘an inflammation of the throat, which caused…’, from Ancient Greek ἄγχω ‘strangle’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- ‘to constrict’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enǵʰ-1‘to constrict’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄγχω2‘strangle’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῠνᾰ́γχη2kŭnắnkhē‘a dog's collar, a bad kind of sore throat’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcy̆nanchē2‘an inflammation of the throat, which caused the tongue to be thrust out’
- Englishtodaycynanche2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄγχω
- 2 Wiktionary, English cynanche
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enǵʰ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄγχω‘to constrict’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄγχωWiktionary, English cynanche‘strangle’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκῠνᾰ́γχηWiktionary, English cynanchekŭnắnkhē‘a dog's collar, a bad kind of sore throat’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcy̆nanchēWiktionary, English cynanche‘an inflammation of the throat, which caused the tongue to be thrust out’
- EnglishtodaycynancheWiktionary, English cynanche
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- ‘to constrict’
angry, anxiety, anger, anxious, eng, anguish, angrily, angst, angina, 11 more
Today it means
noun Any disease of the tonsils, throat, or windpipe, typicalling with inflammation, swelling, and difficulty breathing and swallowing.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cynanche”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek ἄγχω. 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 *h₂enǵʰ- / cynanche