Etymograph

English

tmema

Tmema comes from Ancient Greek τμῆμα ‘piece, section’, from τέμνω ‘to cut’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *temh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temh₁-1‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tm̥-né-h₁-ti1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέμνω2‘to cut’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτμῆμα3tmêma‘piece, section’zero-grade of τέμνω
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1842tmema3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τέμνω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τμῆμα
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English tmema
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1842, The Christian Remembrancer: “The benefit of which I now make such honourable…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τέμνω‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tm̥-né-h₁-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek τέμνωreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέμνωWiktionary, Ancient Greek τμῆμα‘to cut’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτμῆμαWiktionary, English tmematmêma‘piece, section’zero-grade of τέμνω
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1842tmemaWiktionary, English tmema. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1842, The Christian Remembrancer: “The benefit of which I now make such honourable…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- ‘to cut’

contempt, templar, tempestuous, 34 more

through Ancient Greek τέμνω ‘to cut’

atom, epitome, tome, dichotomous, toma, 30 more

Today it means

noun A segment or section.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tmema”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek τέμνω, Ancient Greek τμῆμα. 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 *temh₁- / tmema

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