Etymograph

English

peseta

Peseta comes from Spanish peseta, from peso ‘coin or weight’, 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’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpēnsum1‘allotment, portion, weight’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pēsum1reconstructed
  7. Old Spanishc. 950–1500peso1‘weight’
  8. Spanishc. 1500–presentpeso2‘coin or weight’
  9. Spanishc. 1500–presentpeseta2
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1907peseta2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Spanish peso
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English peseta
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, Harold Bindloss, Toronto: “The task was more to Appleby's liking than the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-Wiktionary, Spanish peso‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)péndetiWiktionary, Spanish pesoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendōWiktionary, Spanish peso‘to hang, put in a hanging position’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendōWiktionary, Spanish peso‘to weigh’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpēnsumWiktionary, Spanish peso‘allotment, portion, weight’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pēsumWiktionary, Spanish pesoreconstructed
  7. Old Spanishc. 950–1500pesoWiktionary, Spanish peso‘weight’
  8. Spanishc. 1500–presentpesoWiktionary, English peseta‘coin or weight’
  9. Spanishc. 1500–presentpesetaWiktionary, English peseta
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1907pesetaWiktionary, English peseta. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, Harold Bindloss, Toronto: “The task was more to Appleby's liking than the…”

Linked words

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

pound, span, depend, pendant, poise, pansy, pensive, 14 more

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

spending, suspension, suspend, spender, 10 more

through Latin pendō ‘to weigh’

spend, expensive, compensation, pension, expense, compensate, expenditure, appendix, perpendicular, penthouse, compendium, dispensation, expend, append, recompense, 13 more

through Spanish peso ‘coin or weight’

peso, piso

Today it means

noun The former currency of the Spanish Empire and Andorra, divided into 100 céntimos.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “peseta”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Spanish peso. 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- / peseta

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