English
dendritic
Dendritic comes from Ancient Greek δενδρίτης ‘of or pertaining to a tree’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dóru.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dóru1‘tree’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-drew-om1uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδένδρον2‘tree’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδενδρίτης3dendrítēs‘of or pertaining to a tree’
- Englishtodaydendritic3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δένδρον
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δενδρίτης
- 3 Wiktionary, English dendritic
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dóruWiktionary, Ancient Greek δένδρον‘tree’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-drew-omWiktionary, Ancient Greek δένδρονuncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδένδρονWiktionary, Ancient Greek δενδρίτης‘tree’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδενδρίτηςWiktionary, English dendriticdendrítēs‘of or pertaining to a tree’
- EnglishtodaydendriticWiktionary, English dendritic
Formed from dendrite + -ic
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dóru ‘tree’
Today it means
adj Having a branching structure similar to a tree.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “dendritic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek δένδρον, Ancient Greek δενδρίτης. 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 *dóru / dendritic