Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pericenter” come from?

pericenter (English) comes from English Center, from Middle English center, from Middle French centre, from Latin centrum, from Ancient Greek κέντρον, from Proto-Hellenic *kéntron, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱéntrom.

pericenter (English): The periapsis, the point of closest approach of...

Definitions

  1. The periapsis, the point of closest approach of...

Ancestry of “pericenter”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishCenter—
2Middle Englishcenter—
3Middle Frenchcentre—
4Latincentrumcenter ; centre
5Ancient GreekκέντρονSomething with a sharp point: point, spike, spur;...
6Proto-Hellenic*kéntron—
7Proto-Indo-European*ḱéntrom—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *ḱéntrom →