Etymograph

English

strigil

Strigil comes from Latin stringō ‘to pull or strip off, cut off, pluck off, clip…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- ‘to twist’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strengʰ-1‘to twist’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréngʰeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strengō1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstringō2‘to pull or strip off, cut off, pluck off, clip off, prune’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstrigilis3root of stringō
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2010strigil3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin stringo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin strigilis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English strigil
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2010, Mary Beard: “In another corner, more bone hinges and bronze fittings…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strengʰ-Wiktionary, Latin stringo‘to twist’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréngʰetiWiktionary, Latin stringoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strengōWiktionary, Latin stringoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstringōWiktionary, Latin strigilis‘to pull or strip off, cut off, pluck off, clip off, prune’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstrigilisWiktionary, English strigilroot of stringō
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2010strigilWiktionary, English strigil. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2010, Mary Beard: “In another corner, more bone hinges and bronze fittings…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- ‘to twist’

strong, strength, string, 37 more

through Proto-Indo-European *stréngʰeti

vasoconstriction, 28 more

through Proto-Italic *strengō

restriction, restrict, constraint, restrain, constrain, constriction, constrictor, constrict, 29 more

through Latin stringō ‘to pull or strip off, cut off, pluck off, clip…’

district, stress, strain, strict, prestige, strait, 40 more

Today it means

noun A grooming tool used to scrape away dead skin, oil, dirt, etc.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “strigil”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin stringo, Latin strigilis. 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 *strengʰ- / strigil

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