Etymograph

English

metopic

Metopic comes from Latin metōpicus ‘relating to the forehead’, from Ancient Greek ὤψ ‘eye’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- ‘to see’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ekʷ-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ókʷs1‘eye’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ókʷs1‘eye’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὤψ2‘eye’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμέτωπον3‘forehead’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμετωπικός4metōpikós‘of or related to the forehead’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmetōpicus4‘relating to the forehead’
  8. Englishtodaymetopic4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὤψ
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μέτωπον
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μετωπικός
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English metopic

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ekʷ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὤψ‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ókʷsWiktionary, Ancient Greek ὤψ‘eye’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ókʷsWiktionary, Ancient Greek ὤψ‘eye’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὤψWiktionary, Ancient Greek μέτωπον‘eye’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμέτωπονWiktionary, Ancient Greek μετωπικός‘forehead’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμετωπικόςWiktionary, English metopicmetōpikós‘of or related to the forehead’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmetōpicusWiktionary, English metopic‘relating to the forehead’
  8. EnglishtodaymetopicWiktionary, English metopic

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- ‘to see’

eye, oculus, optics, ocular, ogle, inoculation, monocle, awk, inoculate, doily, synoptic, 37 more

through Ancient Greek ὤψ ‘eye’

anthropology, anthropoid, 5 more

Today it means

adj Of, relating to, or situated at the forehead

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “metopic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ὤψ, Ancient Greek μέτωπον, Ancient Greek μετωπικός. 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 *h₃ekʷ- / metopic

Shirt and support for this word