Etymograph

English

ulna

Ulna comes from Latin ulna ‘elbow’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *olenā.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*olenā1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEulna2‘elbow’
  3. Englishtodayulna2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin ulna
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English ulna

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*olenāWiktionary, Latin ulnareconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEulnaWiktionary, English ulna‘elbow’
  3. EnglishtodayulnaWiktionary, English ulna

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- ‘to bend’

limit, sublime, ell, limes, subliminal, 9 more

Today it means

noun The bone of the forearm that extends from the elbow to the wrist on the side opposite to the thumb, corresponding to the fibula of the hind limb. Also, the corresponding bone in the forelimb of any vertebrate.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ulna”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin ulna. 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-Italic *olenā / ulna

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