Etymograph

English

sinus

Sinus comes from Latin sinus ‘a bent surface, curve, hollow’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsinus1‘a bent surface, curve, hollow’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1884sinus1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English sinus
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1884, Aerial Navigation: “So, in the helicopteron, as the helix is at…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsinusWiktionary, English sinus‘a bent surface, curve, hollow’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1884sinusWiktionary, English sinus. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1884, Aerial Navigation: “So, in the helicopteron, as the helix is at…”

Linked words

through Latin sinus ‘a bent surface, curve, hollow’

sine, insinuation, insinuate, sinuous, 3 more

Today it means

noun A pouch or cavity in a bone or other tissue, especially one in the bones of the face or skull connecting with the nasal cavities (the paranasal sinus).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sinus”. 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 / Latin sinus / sinus

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