Etymograph

English

protocone

From proto- + cone.

A compound of proto- + cone

Proto-Indo-European *pér ‘through’

Proto-Indo-European *pró ‘forwards, before’

Proto-Hellenic *pró

Ancient Greek πρό ‘before’

Ancient Greek πρῶτος ‘first’

English proto-

Ancient Greek κῶνος ‘cone, spinning top, pine cone’

Medieval Latin cōnus

Middle English cone ‘corner, angle’

English cone

Today it means

noun A cusp in the corner of an upper molar tooth in mammals.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “protocone”. 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 / protocone

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