Etymograph

English

lectica

Lectica comes from Latin lectīca ‘litter’, from lectus ‘bed, couch’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lay’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-1‘to lay’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElectus2‘bed, couch’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElectīca2‘litter’
  4. Englishtodaylectica2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin lectus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English lectica

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-Wiktionary, Latin lectus‘to lay’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElectusWiktionary, English lectica‘bed, couch’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElectīcaWiktionary, English lectica‘litter’
  4. EnglishtodaylecticaWiktionary, English lectica

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lay’

law, low, college, legal, lie, fellow, lawyer, lay, layer, log, loyal, legacy, colleague, delegation, delegate, ledger, collegiate, lair, lex, ledge, lawless, lees, lig, legate, underlay, leaguer, lagan, collegium, lias, leal, 21 more

through Latin lectus ‘bed, couch’

litter, lecture, lectern, 1 more

Today it means

noun A kind of Roman litter, typically with bedding, curtains, and four legs.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “lectica”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin lectus. 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 *legʰ- / lectica

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