Proto-Indo-European
Americannoun
adjective
noun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hedge and haw derive from the Proto-Indo-European root kagh, “to catch.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
“Nectere,” in turn, grew from the ancient Proto-Indo-European language root *ned — which also means “to bind.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2024
She traces the roots of her favorite word in English, marshes, to the Old English mor and the Proto-Indo-European mer, “meaning ‘to hurt,’ ‘to die’ or even ‘sea.’
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2022
It is thought Albion may be derived from the Latin albus, which means white, although there is another possible etymology in a Proto-Indo-European word for "hill".
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2012
But no Proto-Indo-European word can be reconstructed for “gun,” which uses different roots in different modern Indo-European languages: “gun” in English, “fusil” in French, “ruzhyo” in Russian, and so on.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
