Etymograph

English

potomitan

Potomitan comes from Haitian Creole potomitan, from French poteau ‘central post’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand (up)’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-1‘to stand (up)’next step skipped: Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó-sth₂-i-s
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥-sth₂-i-s1‘standing forth’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*porstis1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpostis2‘post’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400post2
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600postiau2
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentpoteau3‘central post’
  8. Haitian Creolemodernpotomitan3
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1953potomitan3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin postis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French poteau
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English potomitan
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1953, a Deren, Divine Horsemen: “Around this poteau-mitan revolve the ritual movements and the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-Wiktionary, Latin postis‘to stand (up)’next step skipped: Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó-sth₂-i-s
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥-sth₂-i-sWiktionary, Latin postis‘standing forth’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*porstisWiktionary, Latin postisreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpostisWiktionary, French poteau‘post’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400postWiktionary, French poteau
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600postiauWiktionary, French poteau
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentpoteauWiktionary, English potomitan‘central post’
  8. Haitian CreolemodernpotomitanWiktionary, English potomitan
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1953potomitanWiktionary, English potomitan. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1953, a Deren, Divine Horsemen: “Around this poteau-mitan revolve the ritual movements and the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand (up)’

state, system, rest, stay, stand, contest, distance, consistent, stadium, assist, constitution, stood, establish, stem, stable, instance, destination, resist, destiny, testimony, insist, stability, instant, consist, substance, persistent, static, distant, stud, prostitution, persist, stationary, prostitute, stool, substitution, attest, stale, stead, subsistence, astute, 156 more

through Old French post

post

Today it means

noun A sacramental post or pillar in the middle of the peristyle in front of a voodoo temple, used as the focus of certain rituals.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “potomitan”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin postis, French poteau. 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 *steh₂- / potomitan

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