Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “piston” come from?

Piston comes from French piston, from Italian pistone, from Latin pistare, from Latin pinso meaning to pound or crush, from Proto-Indo-European peys-.

piston (English): A solid disk or cylinder that fits inside a...

Definitions

  1. A solid disk or cylinder that fits inside a...

Ancestry of “piston”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchpistonpiston; contact, connection
2Italianpistonepiston; valve - of a musical instrument
3Latinpistāre—
4Latinpīnsō—
5Spanishpiensoanimal feed; thought
6Latinpēnsum—
7Latinpendō—
8Proto-Italicpendōhang, put in a hanging position
9Proto-Indo-European(s)péndeti—
10Proto-Indo-European(s)pend-to stretch

Words derived from “piston”

  • pistoned
  • pistonlike
  • pistonless
  • pistonphone
  • multipiston
  • ピストン
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pend- →