Etymograph

English

stemma

Stemma comes from Latin stemma ‘a garland or wreath’, from Ancient Greek στέφω ‘to encircle, crown’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stegʷʰ- ‘to enlace’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stegʷʰ-1‘to enlace’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stégʷʰeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*stékʷʰō1‘to enlace, crown, encircle’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστέφω2‘to encircle, crown’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστέμμα3stémma‘wreath, garland, chaplet’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstemma3‘a garland or wreath’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1941stemma3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στέφω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στέμμα, which cites Beekes
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English stemma
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1941, Sterling Dow, A Family of Sculptors from Tyre: “Where so few dates are known, an authoritative stemma…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stegʷʰ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στέφω‘to enlace’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stégʷʰetiWiktionary, Ancient Greek στέφωreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*stékʷʰōWiktionary, Ancient Greek στέφω‘to enlace, crown, encircle’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστέφωWiktionary, Ancient Greek στέμμα, which cites Beekes‘to encircle, crown’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστέμμαWiktionary, English stemmastémma‘wreath, garland, chaplet’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstemmaWiktionary, English stemma‘a garland or wreath’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1941stemmaWiktionary, English stemma. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1941, Sterling Dow, A Family of Sculptors from Tyre: “Where so few dates are known, an authoritative stemma…”

Linked words

through Ancient Greek στέφω ‘to encircle, crown’

stephane, 4 more

Today it means

noun A family tree or recorded genealogy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “stemma”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek στέφω, Ancient Greek στέμμα. 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 *stegʷʰ- / stemma

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