syllabus

The story

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromσυλλαμβάνω“to put together”
2. Ancient Greek · derived fromσιττύβα“parchment label; table of contents”
3. Medieval Latin · borrowed fromsyllabus“list”
4. English todaysyllabus

Borrowed from Medieval Latin syllabus (“list”), which arose from accusative plural syllabōs appearing as a corruption of sittybās (accusative plural of sittyba, from Ancient Greek σιττύβα (sittúba, “parchment label; table of contents”)) in a 1470s edition of Cicero's “Ad Atticum” IV.5 and 8, influenced by the stem of Ancient Greek συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō, “to put together”).