Etymograph

English

diastole

Diastole comes from Ancient Greek διαστολή ‘separation, drawing asunder’, from διά ‘apart’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ‘two’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwóh₁1‘two’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwís2‘twice, in two’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδιά3diá‘apart’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδιαστολή3diastolḗ‘separation, drawing asunder’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1653diastole3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *dwís
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek διά
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English diastole
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1653, William Harvey, The Causes which Mov’d the Author to Write: “[…] I did almoſt beleeve, that the motion of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwóh₁Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *dwís‘two’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwísWiktionary, Ancient Greek διά‘twice, in two’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδιάWiktionary, English diastolediá‘apart’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδιαστολήWiktionary, English diastolediastolḗ‘separation, drawing asunder’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1653diastoleWiktionary, English diastole. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1653, William Harvey, The Causes which Mov’d the Author to Write: “[…] I did almoſt beleeve, that the motion of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ‘two’

two, doubt, vice, twin, dual, duo, vicious, dubious, duet, twain, disparate, twig, deuce, bes, 20 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dwís ‘twice, in two’

defeat, binary, diplomacy, bis, biceps, binocular, betwixt, 11 more

Today it means

noun The phase or process of relaxation and dilation of the heart chambers, between contractions, during which they fill with blood; an instance of the process.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “diastole”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *dwís, Ancient Greek διά. 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 *dwóh₁ / diastole

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