Etymograph

English

peirastic

Peirastic comes from Ancient Greek πειραστικός ‘tentative’, from πεῖρα ‘trial, experiment, attempt’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to cross, pass’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘to cross, pass’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*périh₂1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*péřřa1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπεῖρα2‘trial, experiment, attempt’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπειραστικός2peirastikós‘tentative’
  6. Englishtodaypeirastic2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πεῖρα
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English peirastic

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πεῖρα‘to cross, pass’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*périh₂Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πεῖραreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*péřřaWiktionary, Ancient Greek πεῖραreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπεῖραWiktionary, English peirastic‘trial, experiment, attempt’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπειραστικόςWiktionary, English peirasticpeirastikós‘tentative’
  6. EnglishtodaypeirasticWiktionary, English peirastic

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to cross, pass’

before, first, support, far, report, further, per, private, press, price, fear, opportunity, pre, primary, prior, prime, appreciate, port, prize, practice, afford, pregnant, ford, forth, precious, privilege, par, praise, interpretation, practical, ferry, parade, fare, porch, pardon, prix, primitive, interpreter, privy, prism, 155 more

through Proto-Hellenic *péřřa

pirate, 2 more

Today it means

adj Experimental or tentative.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “peirastic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek πεῖρα. 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 *per- / peirastic

Shirt and support for this word