Etymograph

English

hexapody

Hexapody comes from Ancient Greek ἕξ ‘six’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *swéḱs.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swéḱs1‘six’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hwéks1‘six’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἕξ2héx‘six’
  4. Englishtodayhexapody3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἕξ
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἑξα-
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English hexapody

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swéḱsWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἕξ‘six’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hwéksWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἕξ‘six’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἕξWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἑξα-héx‘six’
  4. EnglishtodayhexapodyWiktionary, English hexapody

Formed from hexa- + -pody

Proto-Indo-European *swéḱs ‘six’

Proto-Hellenic *hwéks ‘six’

Ancient Greek ἕξ ‘six’

English hexa-

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *swéḱs ‘six’

six, 15 more

through Ancient Greek ἕξ ‘six’

hexane

Today it means

noun A verse or measure of six metrical feet.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hexapody”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ἕξ, Ancient Greek ἑξα-. 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 *swéḱs / hexapody

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