English
gastropod
Gastropod comes from French gastéropode, from Ancient Greek γαστήρ ‘paunch, belly, hollow, wide part’, and perhaps ultimately from γρᾰ́ω ‘to gnaw, eat’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγρᾰ́ω1‘to gnaw, eat’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγαστήρ2‘paunch, belly, hollow, wide part’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentgastéropode3
- Englishtodaygastropod3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek γαστήρ, which cites Beekes
- 2 Wiktionary, French gastéropode
- 3 Wiktionary, English gastropod
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγρᾰ́ωWiktionary, Ancient Greek γαστήρ, which cites Beekes‘to gnaw, eat’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγαστήρWiktionary, French gastéropode‘paunch, belly, hollow, wide part’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentgastéropodeWiktionary, English gastropod
- EnglishtodaygastropodWiktionary, English gastropod
Linked words
through Ancient Greek γρᾰ́ω ‘to gnaw, eat’
through Ancient Greek γαστήρ ‘paunch, belly, hollow, wide part’
Today it means
noun Any member of a class of molluscs (Gastropoda) that includes snails, slugs, and limpets; univalve mollusc.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “gastropod”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek γαστήρ, French gastéropode. 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 / Ancient Greek γρᾰ́ω / gastropod