Etymology

episome

E1P3I1S1O1M3E1

Today it means: A segment of DNA that can exist and replicate either autonomously in the cytoplasm or as part of a chromosome, mainly found in bacteria. Full definition →

Ancient Greek σῶμα (sôma) ← Proto-Hellenic *styṓmə? ← Proto-Indo-European *(s)tyoH-mn̥
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ep-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éps
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₁épi
  4. Proto-Hellenic*epí
  5. Ancient Greekἐπί (epí)
  6. Ancient Greekἐπῐ- (epĭ-)
  7. Englishepi-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*tewh₂-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*twoH-mn̥
  10. Proto-Hellenic*twṓmə?
  11. Proto-Indo-European*styeH-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*(s)tyoH-mn̥
  13. Proto-Hellenic*styṓmə?
  14. Ancient Greekσῶμα (sôma)
  15. English todayepisome

From epi- + -some (“nucleic unit”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.