Etymograph

English

epaule

Epaule comes from French épaule ‘shoulder, shoulder of a bastion’, from Late Latin spathula ‘flat, broad piece’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-1‘to do’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sph₂-dʰh₁-éh₂1uncertain
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spátʰā1‘blade’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάθη1spáthē‘any broad blade, of wood or metal’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspatha2‘straight sword’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEspathula2‘flat, broad piece’diminutive of spatha
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*spatla2reconstructed
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espalle2‘shoulder’
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600espaule2‘shoulder’
  10. Frenchc. 1600–presentépaule3‘shoulder, shoulder of a bastion’
  11. Englishtodayepaule3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin spatha
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French épaule
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English epaule

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-Wiktionary, Latin spatha‘to do’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sph₂-dʰh₁-éh₂Wiktionary, Latin spathauncertain
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spátʰāWiktionary, Latin spatha‘blade’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάθηWiktionary, Latin spathaspáthē‘any broad blade, of wood or metal’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspathaWiktionary, French épaule‘straight sword’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEspathulaWiktionary, French épaule‘flat, broad piece’diminutive of spatha
  7. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*spatlaWiktionary, French épaulereconstructed
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espalleWiktionary, French épaule‘shoulder’
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600espauleWiktionary, French épaule‘shoulder’
  10. Frenchc. 1600–presentépauleWiktionary, English epaule‘shoulder, shoulder of a bastion’
  11. EnglishtodayepauleWiktionary, English epaule

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’

do, fact, deal, hot, fair, defense, fan, benefit, fashion, feature, mid, theme, defence, custom, ethnic, sufficient, treasury, treasure, ethical, thesis, aesthetic, defendant, feast, synthetic, theology, doom, tick, deed, dis, atheist, ethic, atheism, demi, deem, auditorium, thematic, ethos, forfeit, feral, auditor, 124 more

through Latin spatha ‘straight sword’

spade, spatula, espada, 15 more

through Vulgar Latin *spatla

spall, 6 more

Today it means

noun The shoulder of a bastion, or the place where its face and flank meet and form the angle, called the angle of the shoulder.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “epaule”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin spatha, French épaule. 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 *dʰeh₁- / epaule

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