Etymograph

English

peptic

Peptic comes from Ancient Greek πέψις ‘digestion’, from πέσσω ‘to ripen’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- ‘to crack, crush (foodstuff), pulverize (grain)’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pekʷ-1‘to crack, crush (foodstuff), pulverize (grain)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pékʷ-ye-1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέσσω2‘to ripen’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέψις3pépsis‘digestion’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpepticus3
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1842peptic3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πέσσω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πέψις
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English peptic
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1842, Alfred Tennyson, Will Waterproof’s Lyrical Monologue: “But though the port surpasses praise, / My nerves…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pekʷ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πέσσω‘to crack, crush (foodstuff), pulverize (grain)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pékʷ-ye-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πέσσωreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέσσωWiktionary, Ancient Greek πέψις‘to ripen’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέψιςWiktionary, English pepticpépsis‘digestion’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpepticusWiktionary, English peptic
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1842pepticWiktionary, English peptic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1842, Alfred Tennyson, Will Waterproof’s Lyrical Monologue: “But though the port surpasses praise, / My nerves…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- ‘to crack, crush (foodstuff), pulverize (grain)’

coach, cook, kitchen, pumpkin, cuisine, culinary, kiln, concoction, quitter, ricotta, concoct, decoction, 14 more

through Ancient Greek πέψις ‘digestion’

dyspepsia, 2 more

Today it means

adj Of, pertaining to, capable of, or aiding digestion.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “peptic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πέσσω, Ancient Greek πέψις. 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 *pekʷ- / peptic

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