Etymograph

English

ponderal

Ponderal comes from Latin pondus ‘weight’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)pénd-os.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pénd-os1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pondos1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpondus2‘weight’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEponderālis2
  5. Englishtodayponderal2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin pondus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English ponderal

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pénd-osWiktionary, Latin pondusreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pondosWiktionary, Latin pondusreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpondusWiktionary, English ponderal‘weight’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEponderālisWiktionary, English ponderal
  5. EnglishtodayponderalWiktionary, English ponderal

Linked words

through Latin pondus ‘weight’

penny, pound, 11 more

Today it means

adj Pertaining to weight.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ponderal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin pondus. 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)pénd-os / ponderal

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