Etymograph

English

kommos

Kommos comes from Ancient Greek κομμός ‘beating’, from κόπτω ‘to beat, strike’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kop-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kop-1‘to strike, to beat’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκόπτω2kóptō‘to beat, strike’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκομμός2kommós‘beating’
  4. Englishtodaykommos2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κόπτω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English kommos

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kop-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κόπτω‘to strike, to beat’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκόπτωWiktionary, English kommoskóptō‘to beat, strike’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκομμόςWiktionary, English kommoskommós‘beating’
  4. EnglishtodaykommosWiktionary, English kommos

The story

It was used in Ancient Greek theatre.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Ancient Greek κόπτω ‘to beat, strike’

comma, syncope, 7 more

Today it means

noun A set of lines that alternate between an actor (or actors) and the chorus.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “kommos”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek κόπτω. 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 *(s)kop- / kommos

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