Etymograph

English

perpendicular

Perpendicular comes from Latin perpendiculum ‘plumb line’, from perpendō ‘to weigh or examine carefully or exactly’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-1‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)péndeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendō1‘to hang, put in a hanging position’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendō1‘to weigh, weigh out’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpendō2‘to weigh or examine carefully or exactly’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpendiculum3‘plumb line’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400perpendiculer3
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600perpendiculaire3
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2012perpendicular3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin perpendo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin perpendiculum
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English perpendicular
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, Henry Petroski, Opening Doors: “A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-Wiktionary, Latin perpendo‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)péndetiWiktionary, Latin perpendoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendōWiktionary, Latin perpendo‘to hang, put in a hanging position’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendōWiktionary, Latin perpendo‘to weigh, weigh out’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpendōWiktionary, Latin perpendiculum‘to weigh or examine carefully or exactly’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperpendiculumWiktionary, English perpendicular‘plumb line’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400perpendiculerWiktionary, English perpendicular
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600perpendiculaireWiktionary, English perpendicular
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2012perpendicularWiktionary, English perpendicular. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, Henry Petroski, Opening Doors: “A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’

pound, span, depend, poise, pendant, pansy, pensive, 15 more

through Proto-Italic *pendō ‘to hang, put in a hanging position’

spending, suspension, suspend, spender, 11 more

through Latin pendō ‘to weigh, weigh out’

spend, expensive, compensation, expense, pension, compensate, expenditure, penthouse, appendix, peso, compendium, dispensation, expend, recompense, piso, append, 14 more

Today it means

adj At or forming a right angle (to something).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “perpendicular”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin perpendo, Latin perpendiculum. 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 *(s)pend- / perpendicular

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