parenthesis

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
3. Proto-Hellenic*pərai
4. Ancient Greekπᾰρᾰ́ (părắ)
5. Ancient Greekπᾰρᾰ- (pără-)
6. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
7. Ancient Greekἐν (en)
8. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
9. Proto-Indo-European*dʰédʰeh₁ti
10. Ancient Greekτῐ́θημῐ (tĭ́thēmĭ)
11. Ancient Greekπᾰρεντῐ́θημῐ (părentĭ́thēmĭ)
12. Koine Greekπᾰρένθεσῐς (părénthesĭs)
13. Late Latinparenthesi
14. English todayparenthesis

Learned borrowing from Late Latin parenthesis (“rhetorical device where an aside or example is included”), borrowed from Koine Greek πᾰρένθεσῐς (părénthesĭs, “insertion; putting in beside, injection; (grammar) parenthesis”), from Ancient Greek πᾰρεντῐ́θημῐ (părentĭ́thēmĭ) + -σις (-sis), from Ancient Greek πᾰρᾰ- (pără-, prefix meaning ‘beside’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- (“before, in front”) and/or from its etymon *per- (“before, in front”)) + ἐν (en, “at; in; on”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én (“in”)) + θέσῐς (thésĭs, “arrangement, placement, setting”) (from τῐ́θημῐ (tĭ́thēmĭ, “to place, put, set”) (ultimate from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to do; to place, put”)) + -σῐς (-sĭs, suffix forming abstract nouns or nouns of action, process, or result)), modelled after Koine Greek πᾰρεντῐ́θημῐ (părentĭ́thēmĭ, “to put in beside; to mix up”). The plural is also a learned borrowing from Late Latin parenthesēs.

Words from the same roots