Etymograph

English

labia

Labia comes from Latin labia ‘lips’, from labium ‘lip’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leb- ‘to hang loosely’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leb-1‘to hang loosely’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*l̥b-yóm1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*labjom1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElabium2‘lip’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElabia2‘lips’plural of labium
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2023labia2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin labium
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English labia
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Yomi Adegoke, The List: “She wiped the warm wax on the left side…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leb-Wiktionary, Latin labium‘to hang loosely’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*l̥b-yómWiktionary, Latin labiumreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*labjomWiktionary, Latin labiumreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElabiumWiktionary, English labia‘lip’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElabiaWiktionary, English labia‘lips’plural of labium
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2023labiaWiktionary, English labia. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Yomi Adegoke, The List: “She wiped the warm wax on the left side…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *leb- ‘to hang loosely’

lip, label, lap, limp, limbo, lobe, lave, labrum, 14 more

through Latin labium ‘lip’

la, 6 more

Today it means

noun The folds of tissue of the vulva, at either side of the vulval vestibule.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “labia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin labium. 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 *leb- / labia

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