Etymograph

English

profundal

Profundal comes from Latin profundus ‘deep’, from fundus ‘bottom’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- ‘to sink in’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewbʰ-1‘to sink in’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰudʰmḗn1‘bottom’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰudʰnós1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰundʰós1reconstructed
  5. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fundos1reconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundus2‘bottom’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprofundus3‘deep’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1982profundal3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin fundus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin profundus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English profundal
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1982, Jukka Särkkä, On the ecology of littoral Oligochaeta of an oligotrophic Fi: “The ratio of Oligochaeta/Chironomidae was similar to those in…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewbʰ-Wiktionary, Latin fundus‘to sink in’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰudʰmḗnWiktionary, Latin fundus‘bottom’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰudʰnósWiktionary, Latin fundusreconstructed
  4. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰundʰósWiktionary, Latin fundusreconstructed
  5. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fundosWiktionary, Latin fundusreconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundusWiktionary, Latin profundus‘bottom’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprofundusWiktionary, English profundal‘deep’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1982profundalWiktionary, English profundal. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1982, Jukka Särkkä, On the ecology of littoral Oligochaeta of an oligotrophic Fi: “The ratio of Oligochaeta/Chironomidae was similar to those in…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- ‘to sink in’

deep, depth, dumb, dave, dip, deaf, dove, dub, bottomless, typhus, doof, 18 more

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn ‘bottom’

bottom, bot, bourne, 12 more

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰnós

butte, 8 more

through Proto-Italic *fundos

fundamental, fonds, fundus, 8 more

through Latin fundus ‘bottom’

foundation, fund, founder, fond, honda, 11 more

through Latin profundus ‘deep’

profound, 5 more

Today it means

adj Relating to the deep zone of an inland body of water where very little sunlight penetrates; located between the limnetic and the benthic zones.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “profundal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin fundus, Latin profundus. 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 *dʰewbʰ- / profundal

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