Etymograph

English

peplum

Peplum comes from Latin peplum ‘robe of state’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pel- ‘to fold’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-1‘to fold’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέπλος2péplonas πέπλον‘embroidered robe carried in procession at the Panathenaea’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpeplum2‘robe of state’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1837peplum2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πέπλος
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English peplum
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, : Ralph Cudworth, D. D.: “And this was Neith, or Athena, that God thus…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πέπλος‘to fold’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέπλοςWiktionary, English peplumpéplonas πέπλον‘embroidered robe carried in procession at the Panathenaea’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpeplumWiktionary, English peplum‘robe of state’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1837peplumWiktionary, English peplum. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, : Ralph Cudworth, D. D.: “And this was Neith, or Athena, that God thus…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pel- ‘to fold’

film, felt, simple, simply, push, filter, powder, fold, pulse, complain, pillow, flaw, pollen, repeal, palate, compulsive, palpable, palatable, expel, palladium, pall, propel, wallow, repel, polemic, pelt, peloton, pollinate, palatal, muffle, pulver, tuple, palp, pillion, apoplexy, interpolate, 63 more

Another origin of peplum

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέπλωνpéplōn
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpeplum
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentpéplum‘peplum (all senses)’
  4. Englishtodaypeplum

Today it means

noun A peplos, an Ancient Greek garment formed of a tubular piece of cloth folded back upon itself halfway down so that the top of the tube is worn around the waist, and the bottom covers the legs down to the ankles; the open top is then worn over the shoulders, and draped, in folds, down to the waist. Compare the Roman palla.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “peplum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek πέπλος. 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 *pel- / peplum

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