Where does “center” come from?

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

Ancestry of “center”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchcentre—
2Latincentrumcenter
3Ancient GreekκέντρονSomething with a sharp point: point, spike, spur;...
4Proto-Hellenic*kéntron—
5Proto-Indo-European*ḱéntrompointed tool

Words derived from “center”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European *ḱéntrom →Every word from Proto-Hellenic *kéntron →Every word from Ancient Greek κέντρον →
center — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer