Where does “cephalad” come from?
Cephalad derives from the combining form cephalo-, from Ancient Greek κεφαλή meaning head, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʰebʰ-.
cephalad (English): Towards the head
Definitions
- Towards the head
Ancestry of “cephalad”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | AD | borrowed from Latin; in the year of our Lord |
| 2 | English | advantage | Any condition, circumstance, opportunity or... |
| 3 | Middle English | avantage | — |
| 4 | Old French | avantage | advantage; profit; gain |
| 5 | Old French | avant | beforehand; earlier |
| 6 | Latin | ab ante | in front, before |
| 7 | Latin | ante | before, in front, forwards; before; before,... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | κλίσις | bending, inclination; a lying down; a place for... |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | -σῐς | "suffix forming nouns" |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | -τις | retained after dentals |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |