Etymograph

English

ptero-

Ptero- comes from Ancient Greek πτερόν ‘wing, feather’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-1‘to fly’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂r̥2‘feather’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pterón2reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπτερόν3pterón‘wing, feather’
  5. Englishtodayptero-3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πτερόν
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English ptero-

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥‘to fly’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂r̥Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πτερόν‘feather’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pterónWiktionary, Ancient Greek πτερόνreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπτερόνWiktionary, English ptero-pterón‘wing, feather’
  5. Englishtodayptero-Wiktionary, English ptero-

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’

pass, mile, expansion, repeat, pen, expand, petition, compete, patent, competitor, symptom, perpetual, spawn, impetus, expanse, pennant, perpetuate, petulant, perpetuity, patina, pinion, impetuous, pata, patella, penna, petulance, 83 more

through Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ‘feather’

feather, 22 more

through Ancient Greek πτερόν ‘wing, feather’

helicopter, 20 more

Today it means

prefix wing

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ptero-”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥, Ancient Greek πτερόν. 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 *peth₂- / ptero-

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