English
undulation
Undulation comes from Latin undulō ‘to rise in waves, to undulate’, from undula ‘wavelet’, and ultimately from unda ‘wave’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEunda1‘wave’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEundula2‘wavelet’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEundulō3‘to rise in waves, to undulate’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500undulātiō4
- Englishearliest quotation 1929undulation4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin undula
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin undulo
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin undulatio
- 4 Wiktionary, English undulation
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka: “But the next undulation would raise us, showing the…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEundaWiktionary, Latin undula‘wave’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEundulaWiktionary, Latin undulo‘wavelet’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEundulōWiktionary, Latin undulatio‘to rise in waves, to undulate’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500undulātiōWiktionary, English undulation
- Englishearliest quotation 1929undulationWiktionary, English undulation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka: “But the next undulation would raise us, showing the…”
Formed from undulate + -ion
Latin unda ‘wave’
Latin *undula ‘a small wave’
New Latin undulātus ‘undulated, diversified as with waves, pleated’
English undulate
Linked words
through Latin unda ‘wave’
abundance, und, surround, abundant, redundant, undated, undine, inundation, inundate, 8 more
Today it means
noun An instance or act of undulating.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “undulation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin undula, Latin undulo, Latin undulatio. 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 / Latin unda / undulation