Etymograph

English

prismatize

Prismatize comes from French prismatique ‘prismatic’, from Ancient Greek πρῑ́ω ‘to saw’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to pass, go forth’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘to pass, go forth’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pér-ye-ti1uncertainye-present of *per-
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*péryō1uncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπείρω2peírō‘to pierce’uncertain
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρῑ́ω3prī́ō‘to saw’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρίσματος3prísmatos
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentprismatique3‘prismatic’
  8. English1500–presentprismatic3
  9. Englishtodayprismatize3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πείρω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πρίω
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English prismatize

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πείρω‘to pass, go forth’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pér-ye-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek πείρωuncertainye-present of *per-
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*péryōWiktionary, Ancient Greek πείρωuncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπείρωWiktionary, Ancient Greek πρίωpeírō‘to pierce’uncertain
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρῑ́ωWiktionary, English prismatizeprī́ō‘to saw’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρίσματοςWiktionary, English prismatizeprísmatos
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentprismatiqueWiktionary, English prismatize‘prismatic’
  8. English1500–presentprismaticWiktionary, English prismatize
  9. EnglishtodayprismatizeWiktionary, English prismatize

Linked words

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

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

through Ancient Greek πείρω ‘to pierce’

pore, emporium, prion, 13 more

Today it means

verb To separate (light) by means of a transparent prism.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prismatize”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πείρω, Ancient Greek πρίω. 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 *per- / prismatize

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