English
pteroma
Pteroma comes from Ancient Greek πτέρωμα, from πτερόν ‘feather’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-1‘to fly’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂r̥2‘feather’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pterón2reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπτερόν3‘feather’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπτέρωμα3ptérōma
- Englishtodaypteroma3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πτερόν
- 3 Wiktionary, English pteroma
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥‘to fly’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂r̥Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πτερόν‘feather’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pterónWiktionary, Ancient Greek πτερόνreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπτερόνWiktionary, English pteroma‘feather’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπτέρωμαWiktionary, English pteromaptérōma
- EnglishtodaypteromaWiktionary, English pteroma
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’
pass, mile, expansion, repeat, pen, expand, petition, compete, patent, competitor, perpetual, spawn, impetus, symptom, expanse, pennant, perpetuate, petulant, perpetuity, patina, pinion, impetuous, pata, patella, penna, petulance, 82 more
through Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ‘feather’
through Ancient Greek πτερόν ‘feather’
Today it means
noun A walkway, in a Greek or Roman temple, between the cella and surrounding colonnade.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “pteroma”; 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- / pteroma