Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sternum” come from?

Sternum comes from Latin sternum, from Ancient Greek στέρνον, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European stern-, derived from sterh₃-, which developed from the root ster-.

sternum (English): The breastbone; The sclerotized plate of spiders,...

Definitions

  1. The breastbone; The sclerotized plate of spiders,...

Ancestry of “sternum”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1New Latinsternum—
2Ancient Greekστέρνονbreast, chest; seat of the affections, heart;...
3Proto-Indo-Europeanstern-forehead, chest, side

Words derived from “sternum”

  • sternal
  • parasternal
  • substernal
  • suprasternal
  • sterna
  • retrosternal
  • transsternal
  • presternum
  • metasternum
  • midsternal
  • mesosternum
  • presternal
  • episternum
  • infrasternal
  • asternal
  • metasternal
  • chondrosternal
  • sternally
  • mesosternal
  • vertebrosternal
  • proepisternum
  • omosternum
  • intersternal
  • peristernal
Every word from Proto-Indo-European stern- →