English
isthmus
Isthmus comes from Latin isthmus ‘a strip of land between two seas’, from Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός ‘neck, narrow passage’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- ‘to go’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ey-1‘to go’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éyti2‘to go, to be going’uncertain
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*éimi2‘to go’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἶμῐ3eîmĭ‘to go’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῐ̓σθμός3ĭsthmós‘neck, narrow passage’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEisthmus3‘a strip of land between two seas’
- Englishtodayisthmus3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εἶμι
- 3 Wiktionary, English isthmus
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ey-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti‘to go’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éytiWiktionary, Ancient Greek εἶμι‘to go, to be going’uncertain
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*éimiWiktionary, Ancient Greek εἶμι‘to go’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἶμῐWiktionary, English isthmuseîmĭ‘to go’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῐ̓σθμόςWiktionary, English isthmusĭsthmós‘neck, narrow passage’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEisthmusWiktionary, English isthmus‘a strip of land between two seas’
- EnglishtodayisthmusWiktionary, English isthmus
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- ‘to go’
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti ‘to go, to be going’
initial, transition, initiative, ambition, ambitious, initiate, ambient, initiation, eyre, sedition, initiator, ambiance, ambit, 19 more
through Proto-Hellenic *éimi ‘to go’
through Ancient Greek εἶμῐ ‘to go’
Today it means
noun A narrow strip of land, bordered on both sides by water, and connecting two larger landmasses.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “isthmus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti, Ancient Greek εἶμι. 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 *h₁ey- / isthmus