Etymograph

English

murus

Murus comes from Latin mūrus ‘wall’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to attach, bind, strengthen’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-1‘to attach, bind, strengthen’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*moyros1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moiros1‘wall’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmūrus1‘wall’
  5. Englishtodaymurus1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English murus

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-Wiktionary, English murus‘to attach, bind, strengthen’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*moyrosWiktionary, English murusreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moirosWiktionary, English murus‘wall’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmūrusWiktionary, English murus‘wall’
  5. EnglishtodaymurusWiktionary, English murus

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to attach, bind, strengthen’

mean, common, community, met, minister, minute, commission, ministry, minor, mess, communication, meal, min, commit, menu, compromise, missile, mere, communist, communicate, mutual, immune, dismiss, premise, ammunition, minus, immunity, mole, communism, municipality, ammo, communal, mayhem, noodle, communion, intermittent, moor, remuneration, mite, omit, 76 more

through Latin mūrus ‘wall’

mural, 9 more

Today it means

noun A wall, in the context of Ancient Rome. "Ubi vero moveri et adpropinquare muris viderunt, nova atque inusitata specie commoti legatos ad Caesarem de pace miserunt,.." Julius Caesar, Bellum Gallicum II

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “murus”. 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 *mey- / murus

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