Etymograph

English

molar

Molar comes from Latin molāris ‘millstone, molar’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*molh₂éh₂1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*molā1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmola1‘millstone’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmolāris1‘millstone, molar’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500molar1
  7. Englishtodaymolar1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English molar

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-Wiktionary, English molarreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*molh₂éh₂Wiktionary, English molarreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*molāWiktionary, English molarreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmolaWiktionary, English molar‘millstone’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmolārisWiktionary, English molar‘millstone, molar’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500molarWiktionary, English molar
  7. EnglishtodaymolarWiktionary, English molar

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-

meal, mill, mild, mule, mould, mold, bonanza, mullet, mull, amalgam, malleable, camo, melatonin, maelstrom, moulin, martel, malm, moline, amyl, 39 more

through Latin mola ‘millstone’

miller, muller, mole, 3 more

Today it means

noun A back tooth having a broad surface used for grinding one's food.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “molar”. 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 *melh₂- / molar

Shirt and support for this word