Etymograph

English

rheotan

Rheotan comes from German Rheotan, from Ancient Greek ῥέω ‘to flow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srew-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*srew-1‘to flow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sréweti1‘to flow’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hréwō1‘to flow, stream’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῥέω2‘to flow’
  5. Germanc. 1650–presentRheotan3
  6. Englishtodayrheotan3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ῥέω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, German Rheotan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English rheotan

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*srew-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ῥέω‘to flow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sréwetiWiktionary, Ancient Greek ῥέω‘to flow’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hréwōWiktionary, Ancient Greek ῥέω‘to flow, stream’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῥέωWiktionary, German Rheotan‘to flow’
  5. Germanc. 1650–presentRheotanWiktionary, English rheotan
  6. EnglishtodayrheotanWiktionary, English rheotan

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *srew- ‘to flow’

stream, rhythm, maelstrom, rheumatism, rheumatology, 42 more

through Ancient Greek ῥέω ‘to flow’

rheumatic, hemorrhoid, rheology, 7 more

Today it means

noun An alloy of copper, nickel and zinc used for electrical resistors and heating coils.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rheotan”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ῥέω, German Rheotan. 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 *srew- / rheotan

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