Etymograph

English

pyroleter

Pyroleter comes from Ancient Greek ὀλετήρ ‘destroyer’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₃elh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃elh₁-1‘destroy’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὄλλυμι2‘to destroy, make an end of’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀλετήρ2oletḗr‘destroyer’
  4. Englishtodaypyroleter2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὄλλυμι
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English pyroleter

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃elh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὄλλυμι‘destroy’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὄλλυμιWiktionary, English pyroleter‘to destroy, make an end of’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀλετήρWiktionary, English pyroleteroletḗr‘destroyer’
  4. EnglishtodaypyroleterWiktionary, English pyroleter

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃elh₁- ‘destroy’

fall, abolition

Today it means

noun A fire-extinguishing chemical apparatus by which carbonic acid is generated and thrown on the fire.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pyroleter”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek ὄλλυμι. 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 *h₃elh₁- / pyroleter

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