Etymograph

English

prismatic

Prismatic comes from Ancient Greek πρίσματος, and goes back to πρῑ́ω ‘to saw’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρῑ́ω1prī́ō‘to saw’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρίσματος1prísmatos
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentprismatique1
  4. Englishtodayprismatic1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English prismatic

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρῑ́ωWiktionary, English prismaticprī́ō‘to saw’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρίσματοςWiktionary, English prismaticprísmatos
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentprismatiqueWiktionary, English prismatic
  4. EnglishtodayprismaticWiktionary, English prismatic

Formed from prism + -atic

Proto-Indo-European *per-

Ancient Greek πρῐ́ω

Ancient Greek πρίσμᾰ ‘anything sawn’

Late Latin prisma ‘(geometry) prism’

English prism

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to pass, go forth’

first, before, support, far, per, report, further, press, fear, opportunity, port, pre, private, price, practice, afford, ford, appreciate, prior, prime, forth, pregnant, primary, prize, precious, parade, par, practical, ferry, praise, fare, privilege, interpretation, porch, pardon, pirate, interpreter, afar, primitive, prix, 153 more

through Ancient Greek πείρω ‘to pierce’

pore, emporium, prion, 13 more

Today it means

adj Of or pertaining to a prism; having the form of a prism; containing one or more prisms.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prismatic”. 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 / Ancient Greek πρῑ́ω / prismatic

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