Etymograph

English

kastom

Kastom comes from Bislama kastom, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-1‘to do’root named by Wiktionary
  2. English1500–presentcustom1
  3. Bislamamodernkastom1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1994kastom1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English kastom
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1994, Lissant Bolton, Geoffrey M[iles] White: “Mats were used in kastom ceremonies, but they were…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-Wiktionary, English kastom‘to do’root named by Wiktionary
  2. English1500–presentcustomWiktionary, English kastom
  3. BislamamodernkastomWiktionary, English kastom
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1994kastomWiktionary, English kastom. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1994, Lissant Bolton, Geoffrey M[iles] White: “Mats were used in kastom ceremonies, but they were…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’

do, fact, deal, hot, fair, defense, fan, benefit, feature, mid, theme, fashion, defence, ethnic, sufficient, ethical, thesis, treasury, defendant, treasure, synthetic, theology, aesthetic, tick, deed, dis, custom, ethic, doom, atheism, feast, atheist, demi, deem, auditorium, spade, thematic, ethos, forfeit, feral, 128 more

Today it means

noun Traditional beliefs and values held, and culture practised, in modern times in Melanesia.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “kastom”. 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 *dʰeh₁- / kastom

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