Etymograph

English

incision

Incision comes from Late Latin incisiō ‘cutting into, incision’, from Latin caedō ‘to cut, hew, cut down, fell, cut off, cut to…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂eyd-1‘to cut, hew’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂éydeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaidō1‘to cut, hew, fell’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaedō1‘to cut, hew, cut down, fell, cut off, cut to pieces’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEincidō2‘to cut into’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEincisiō2‘cutting into, incision’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600incision2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500inscicioun2‘incision, cutting’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1539incision2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin incido
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English incision
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1539, Thomas Elyot, The Castel of Helthe: “The parte of Euacuation by lettyng of blud, is…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂eyd-Wiktionary, Latin incido‘to cut, hew’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂éydetiWiktionary, Latin incidoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaidōWiktionary, Latin incido‘to cut, hew, fell’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaedōWiktionary, Latin incido‘to cut, hew, cut down, fell, cut off, cut to pieces’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEincidōWiktionary, English incision‘to cut into’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEincisiōWiktionary, English incision‘cutting into, incision’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600incisionWiktionary, English incision
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500insciciounWiktionary, English incision‘incision, cutting’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1539incisionWiktionary, English incision. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1539, Thomas Elyot, The Castel of Helthe: “The parte of Euacuation by lettyng of blud, is…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- ‘to cut, hew’

hit, 28 more

through Proto-Italic *kaidō ‘to cut, hew, fell’

scissors, 26 more

through Latin caedō ‘to cut, hew, cut down, fell, cut off, cut to…’

decision, cement, precise, chisel, concise, scissor, circumcision, caesium, excision, 27 more

through Late Latin incidō ‘to cut into’

incident, 4 more

Today it means

noun A cut, especially one made by a scalpel or similar medical tool in the context of surgical operation; the scar resulting from such a cut.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “incision”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin incido. 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 *kh₂eyd- / incision

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