Etymograph

English

modiolar

Modiolar comes from Latin modiolus ‘cup’, from modius ‘the Roman corn measure’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-1‘to measure’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mod-ós1‘measure’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*modos1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodus2‘a measure’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodius3‘the Roman corn measure’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodiolus3‘cup’diminutive of modius
  7. Englishtodaymodiolar3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin modus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin modius
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English modiolar

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-Wiktionary, Latin modus‘to measure’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mod-ósWiktionary, Latin modus‘measure’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*modosWiktionary, Latin modusreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodusWiktionary, Latin modius‘a measure’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodiusWiktionary, English modiolar‘the Roman corn measure’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodiolusWiktionary, English modiolar‘cup’diminutive of modius
  7. EnglishtodaymodiolarWiktionary, English modiolar

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure’

must, medical, medicine, moderate, med, medication, remedy, meditation, modest, medicinal, blackmail, medic, moderator, meditate, molding, mete, mote, modulate, moulder, commode, 21 more

through Proto-Italic *modos

modernize, modality, 9 more

through Latin modus ‘a measure’

model, modern, mode, mood, module, commodity, mold, modification, mould, modal, modulation, modus, modulus, modicum, modulo, modifiable, 16 more

through Latin modius ‘the Roman corn measure’

mud, 7 more

Today it means

adj Shaped like a bushel measure

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “modiolar”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin modus, Latin modius. 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 *med- / modiolar

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