Etymograph

English

petalum

Petalum comes from Ancient Greek πέταλον ‘leaf of plant, flower, or tree’, from πέταλος ‘broad, flat’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to spread out’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-1‘to spread out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pétalos1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέταλος1pétalos‘broad, flat’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέταλον1pétalon‘leaf of plant, flower, or tree’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900petalum1
  6. Englishtodaypetalum1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English petalum

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-Wiktionary, English petalum‘to spread out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pétalosWiktionary, English petalumreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέταλοςWiktionary, English petalumpétalos‘broad, flat’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέταλονWiktionary, English petalumpétalon‘leaf of plant, flower, or tree’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900petalumWiktionary, English petalum
  6. EnglishtodaypetalumWiktionary, English petalum

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to spread out’

pass, mile, expansion, expand, repeat, patent, helicopter, pen, compete, petition, feather, symptom, competitor, spawn, expanse, perpetual, impetus, perpetuate, pennant, patina, pinion, perpetuity, patella, petulant, impetuous, pata, penna, petulance, 82 more

Today it means

noun A petal.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “petalum”. 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 *peth₂- / petalum

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