English
embolalia
Embolalia comes from Ancient Greek ἔμβολος ‘something thrown in’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-1‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-1reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnō1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλω2‘to throw’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐμβάλλω3‘to throw in’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔμβολος4émbolos‘something thrown in’
- Englishtodayembolalia4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐμβάλλω
- 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔμβολος
- 4 Wiktionary, English embolalia
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnōWiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐμβάλλω‘to throw’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐμβάλλωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔμβολος‘to throw in’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔμβολοςWiktionary, English embolaliaémbolos‘something thrown in’
- EnglishtodayembolaliaWiktionary, English embolalia
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to hit by throwing’
ball, quail, quill, quell, obelisk, pul, 64 more
through Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō
symbolic, ballistic, ballista, symbolist, 35 more
through Ancient Greek βάλλω ‘to throw’
problem, devil, symbol, metabolic, parable, hyperbolic, parabolic, anabolic, metabolize, hyperbola, 34 more
through Ancient Greek ἐμβάλλω ‘to throw in’
Today it means
noun Automatic speech; verbalization that occurs without conscious effort by the individual, such as repetitions and filler words.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “embolalia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek βάλλω, Ancient Greek ἐμβάλλω, Ancient Greek ἔμβολος. 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 *gʷelH- / embolalia