English
gingivectomy
Gingivectomy comes from Ancient Greek ἐκτομή ‘a cutting out’, from ἐκτέμνω ‘to cut down trees, fell, cut to shape’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *temh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temh₁-1‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tm̥-né-h₁-ti1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέμνω2témnō‘to cut’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐκτέμνω2ektémnō‘to cut down trees, fell, cut to shape’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐκτομή2ektomḗ‘a cutting out’
- Englishtodaygingivectomy2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τέμνω
- 2 Wiktionary, English gingivectomy
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τέμνω‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tm̥-né-h₁-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek τέμνωreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέμνωWiktionary, English gingivectomytémnō‘to cut’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐκτέμνωWiktionary, English gingivectomyektémnō‘to cut down trees, fell, cut to shape’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐκτομήWiktionary, English gingivectomyektomḗ‘a cutting out’
- EnglishtodaygingivectomyWiktionary, English gingivectomy
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- ‘to cut’
contempt, templar, tempestuous, 34 more
through Ancient Greek τέμνω ‘to cut’
Today it means
noun A periodontal surgical procedure to remove gum tissue.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “gingivectomy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek τέμνω. 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 *temh₁- / gingivectomy