Etymograph

English

klismos

Klismos comes from Ancient Greek κλισμός ‘couch’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱley-1next step skipped: Ancient Greek κλῑ́νω
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλισμός1klismós‘couch’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 2007klismos1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English klismos
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Wendy Moonan, Chinese Porcelain With a French Twist: “Stephen Miller Siegel, a Manhattan architect and decorator, created…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱley-Wiktionary, English klismosnext step skipped: Ancient Greek κλῑ́νω
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλισμόςWiktionary, English klismosklismós‘couch’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 2007klismosWiktionary, English klismos. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Wendy Moonan, Chinese Porcelain With a French Twist: “Stephen Miller Siegel, a Manhattan architect and decorator, created…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-

law, low, climate, decline, lean, ladder, lid, climax, inclination, incline, clinician, eyelid, cline, declension, proclivity, declination, 25 more

Today it means

noun A light Ancient Greek chair with curved legs.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “klismos”. 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 *ḱley- / klismos

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