Etymograph

English

stelo

Stelo comes from Esperanto stelo ‘star’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- ‘to be dry, to dry’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eHs-1‘to be dry, to dry’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂stḗr1‘star’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*stērlā1‘star’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstēlla1‘a star’
  5. Esperantomodernstelo2‘star’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1980stelo2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Esperanto stelo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English stelo
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1980, COINage, Ventura: “One stelo theoretically equals in value of one kilogram…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eHs-Wiktionary, Esperanto stelo‘to be dry, to dry’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂stḗrWiktionary, Esperanto stelo‘star’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*stērlāWiktionary, Esperanto stelo‘star’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstēllaWiktionary, Esperanto stelo‘a star’
  5. EsperantomodernsteloWiktionary, English stelo‘star’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1980steloWiktionary, English stelo. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1980, COINage, Ventura: “One stelo theoretically equals in value of one kilogram…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- ‘to be dry, to dry’

are, ash, arent, arson, arid, ardent, azalea, ashy, ashen, areal, ardor, 5 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr ‘star’

star, disaster, sterling, asteroid, astral, asterisk, aster, 21 more

through Proto-Italic *stērlā ‘star’

constellation, stellate, 8 more

through Latin stēlla ‘a star’

stellar, stella, 10 more

Today it means

noun A monetary unit of Esperantists from 1945 to 1993, one of whose aims was to achieve a single world currency.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “stelo”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Esperanto stelo. 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 *h₂eHs- / stelo