English
sternum
Sternum comes from New Latin sternum ‘the breastbone’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃- ‘to be broad, spread out’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sterh₃-1‘to be broad, spread out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stér(h₃)-no-m1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστέρνον2stérnon‘breast, chest’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900sternum3‘the breastbone’
- Englishearliest quotation 2020sternum3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στέρνον
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin sternum
- 3 Wiktionary, English sternum
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Akwaeke Emezi, The Death of Vivek Oji: “The neckline fell into a V, showing the bone…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sterh₃-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek στέρνον‘to be broad, spread out’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stér(h₃)-no-mWiktionary, Ancient Greek στέρνονreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEστέρνονWiktionary, Latin sternumstérnon‘breast, chest’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900sternumWiktionary, English sternum‘the breastbone’
- Englishearliest quotation 2020sternumWiktionary, English sternum. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Akwaeke Emezi, The Death of Vivek Oji: “The neckline fell into a V, showing the bone…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃- ‘to be broad, spread out’
street, straw, strand, prostrate, stratum, stratus, stroma, 10 more
Today it means
noun The breastbone, consisting of the manubrium, gladiolus, and xiphoid process.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “sternum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek στέρνον, Latin sternum. 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 *sterh₃- / sternum