English
decane
Decane comes from Late Latin decas, from Ancient Greek δεκάς ‘a group of ten, decade’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥1‘ten’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dékə1‘ten’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέκᾰ1dékă‘ten’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδεκάς1dekás‘a group of ten, decade’
- Late Latinmoderndecas1
- Englishtodaydecane1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English decane
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥Wiktionary, English decane‘ten’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dékəWiktionary, English decane‘ten’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέκᾰWiktionary, English decanedékă‘ten’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδεκάςWiktionary, English decanedekás‘a group of ten, decade’
- Late LatinmoderndecasWiktionary, English decane
- EnglishtodaydecaneWiktionary, English decane
A compound of dec- + -ane
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’
ten, century, cent, hundred, dick, dozen, sen, dean, den, diner, hectare, decimal, tenfold, denier, dwt, doyen, deni, 50 more
through Ancient Greek δεκάς ‘a group of ten, decade’
Today it means
noun Any of the 75 isomers of the aliphatic hydrocarbon having the chemical formula C₁₀H₂₂
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “decane”. 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 *déḱm̥ / decane