Etymograph

English

lateral

Lateral comes from Latin laterālis ‘belonging to the side’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- ‘flat’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleth₂-1‘flat’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElatus2‘the side or flank’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElaterālis2‘belonging to the side’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1956lateral2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin latus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English lateral
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1956, United States House Appropriations Commi, Public Works Appropriations for 1957: “[…] Canal and laterals, section 4, and the first…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleth₂-Wiktionary, Latin latus‘flat’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElatusWiktionary, English lateral‘the side or flank’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElaterālisWiktionary, English lateral‘belonging to the side’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1956lateralWiktionary, English lateral. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1956, United States House Appropriations Commi, Public Works Appropriations for 1957: “[…] Canal and laterals, section 4, and the first…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- ‘flat’

plane, flat, plate, plaza, platinum, piazza, plat, plantain, flan, plaice, 15 more

through Latin latus ‘the side or flank’

le, latitude, dilate, dilatation, 12 more

Today it means

adj Situated on one side or other of the body or of an organ, especially in the region furthest from the median plane.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “lateral”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin latus. 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 *pleth₂- / lateral

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