English
protostoma
Protostoma comes from Ancient Greek στόμα ‘mouth’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *stéh₃mn̥.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stéh₃mn̥1‘mouth’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστόμα2‘mouth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1919protostoma2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στόμα, which cites Beekes
- 2 Wiktionary, English protostoma
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1919, Ernest William MacBride: “It is frequently stated by critics of the protostoma…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stéh₃mn̥Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στόμα, which cites Beekes‘mouth’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστόμαWiktionary, English protostoma‘mouth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1919protostomaWiktionary, English protostoma. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1919, Ernest William MacBride: “It is frequently stated by critics of the protostoma…”
Formed from proto- + στόμα ‘mouth’
Proto-Indo-European *pér ‘through’
Proto-Indo-European *pró ‘forwards, before’
Proto-Hellenic *pró
Ancient Greek πρό ‘before’
Ancient Greek πρῶτος ‘first’
English proto-
Linked words
through Ancient Greek στόμα ‘mouth’
Today it means
noun Synonym of blastopore.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “protostoma”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek στόμα. 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 *stéh₃mn̥ / protostoma