Etymograph

English

radial

Radial comes from Latin radius ‘the radius of a circle’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *neredʰ- ‘extend forth, rise, outward’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*neredʰ-1‘extend forth, rise, outward’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradius2‘the radius of a circle’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500radiālis2
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1976radial2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin radius
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English radial
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1976, Paddy Chayefsky, Network: “Let me have my toaster and my TV and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*neredʰ-Wiktionary, Latin radius‘extend forth, rise, outward’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiusWiktionary, English radial‘the radius of a circle’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500radiālisWiktionary, English radial
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1976radialWiktionary, English radial. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1976, Paddy Chayefsky, Network: “Let me have my toaster and my TV and…”

Linked words

through Latin radius ‘the radius of a circle’

ray, laser, radius, 11 more

Today it means

adj Arranged like rays that radiate from, or converge to, a common centre.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “radial”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin radius. 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 *neredʰ- / radial

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