English
lunule
Lunule comes from Latin lūnula ‘an ornament in the form of a little moon’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-1‘bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówksneh₂1‘moon’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louksnā1‘moon’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūna2‘moon’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūnula2‘an ornament in the form of a little moon’diminutive of lūna
- Frenchc. 1600–presentlunule2
- Englishtodaylunule2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin luna
- 2 Wiktionary, English lunule
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-Wiktionary, Latin luna‘bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówksneh₂Wiktionary, Latin luna‘moon’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louksnāWiktionary, Latin luna‘moon’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūnaWiktionary, English lunule‘moon’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūnulaWiktionary, English lunule‘an ornament in the form of a little moon’diminutive of lūna
- Frenchc. 1600–presentlunuleWiktionary, English lunule
- EnglishtodaylunuleWiktionary, English lunule
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’
light, low, link, los, lucy, ounce, lea, illumination, illuminate, lynx, translucent, luminous, lucid, lux, lumen, luminosity, luce, lumia, loach, luminescent, lum, leucine, luminary, luminal, 72 more
through Proto-Italic *louksnā ‘moon’
through Latin lūna ‘moon’
Today it means
noun Anything crescent-shaped; a crescent-shaped part or mark; a lunula or lune.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “lunule”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin luna. 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 *lewk- / lunule