Etymograph

English

decet

Decet comes from Italian decetto, from dieci ‘ten’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥1‘ten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dekem1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecem2‘ten’
  4. Italianc. 1300–presentdieci3‘ten’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentdecetto3
  6. Englishtodaydecet3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin decem
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Italian dieci
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English decet

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥Wiktionary, Latin decem‘ten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dekemWiktionary, Latin decemreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecemWiktionary, Italian dieci‘ten’
  4. Italianc. 1300–presentdieciWiktionary, English decet‘ten’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentdecettoWiktionary, English decet
  6. EnglishtodaydecetWiktionary, English decet

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’

ten, century, hundred, dick, cent, sen, decade, den, diner, hectare, tenfold, denier, dwt, deca, 48 more

through Latin decem ‘ten’

dozen, dean, decimal, doyen, dicker, deni, 19 more

Today it means

noun A group of ten musicians; a piece of music written for such a group

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “decet”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin decem, Italian dieci. 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 / decet

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