Etymograph

English

hypertonia

Hypertonia comes from New Latin hypertonia, from Ancient Greek τόνος ‘a cord, rope or string’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘stretch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-1‘stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tón-os1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tónos1‘rope, cord’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτόνος2tónos‘a cord, rope or string’
  5. New Latinmodernhypertonia2
  6. Englishtodayhypertonia2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τόνος
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English hypertonia

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τόνος‘stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tón-osWiktionary, Ancient Greek τόνοςreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tónosWiktionary, Ancient Greek τόνος‘rope, cord’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτόνοςWiktionary, English hypertoniatónos‘a cord, rope or string’
  5. New LatinmodernhypertoniaWiktionary, English hypertonia
  6. EnglishtodayhypertoniaWiktionary, English hypertonia

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘stretch’

continue, content, tight, maintenance, obtain, entertainment, contain, tennis, retain, continuous, sustain, continent, tender, detention, tenant, retention, tenor, rein, pristine, continuum, detain, abstinence, tendon, tenacity, abstain, tenacious, tenet, sustenance, pertinent, countenance, tetanus, tenement, incontinence, retinue, tantra, pertain, tenable, abstention, maintainer, tendinitis, 67 more

through Proto-Hellenic *tónos ‘rope, cord’

peritoneum, 9 more

through Ancient Greek τόνος ‘a cord, rope or string’

tune, tone, ton, tonic, 12 more

Today it means

noun An abnormal increase in tightness of muscle tone, common in cerebral palsy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hypertonia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek τόνος. 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 *ten- / hypertonia

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