Etymograph

English

precordium

Precordium comes from Latin praecordium ‘diaphragm (midriff)’, from cor ‘heart’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerd-1‘heart’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱḗr ~ *ḱr̥dés1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kord1‘heart’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcor1‘heart’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraecordium2‘diaphragm (midriff)’
  6. Englishtodayprecordium2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin praecordium
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English precordium

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerd-Wiktionary, Latin praecordium‘heart’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱḗr ~ *ḱr̥désWiktionary, Latin praecordiumreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kordWiktionary, Latin praecordium‘heart’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcorWiktionary, Latin praecordium‘heart’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraecordiumWiktionary, English precordium‘diaphragm (midriff)’
  6. EnglishtodayprecordiumWiktionary, English precordium

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerd- ‘heart’

heart, cardiac, creed, myocardium, 4 more

through Proto-Italic *kord ‘heart’

courageous, recorder, concordia, discordant, 6 more

through Latin cor ‘heart’

record, encourage, courage, core, accord, concord, discord, cordial, 11 more

Today it means

noun The region of the body over the heart and thorax.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “precordium”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin praecordium. 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 *ḱerd- / precordium

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