Meaning
The wavelike, curved shape of a cymatium, consisting of a concave and a convex line; (loosely) the cymatium itself.
Etymology
Origin: Latin
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *ḱuh₁éyeti Ancient Greek κῠ́ω (kŭ́ō) Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Hellenic *-mə Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă) Ancient Greek κῦμᾰ (kûmă)bor. New Latin cȳmabor. English cyma From New Latin cȳma (“young sprout or shoot of cabbage”) (whence the botanic usage of cyme), from Ancient Greek κῦμα (kûma, “swell, wave”, “cyma”, “sprout of a plant”), from κύω (kúō, “to conceive, to become pregnant”). For more information, click to expand this box. Most English coinages on this root are formed on its short stem, κῡμ- (kūm-). The fact that the Ancient Greek etymon only inflects as a third-declension neuter noun has led some writers to prescribe forms that preserve the root’s long stem, κῡματ- (kūmat-), for philological reasons (see, for example, the 1903 and 1908 citations of cymatoscope), but such forms are rare. Latinate phrases that include cyma, namely cyma inversa, cyma recta, and cyma reversa, show that, when employed as a Latin word, cȳma is treated as a first-declension feminine noun rather than as third-declension neuter consonant-stem noun. There are several Classical precedents, both from Latin and from Ancient Greek, for formations on the short stem (κῡμ- (kūm-)) of this root, although formations on the long stem (κῡματ- (kūmat-)) are more common in Ancient Greek; consequently, whereas formations on the long stem may be preferable, especially when combined with other Ancient Greek elements, formations on the short stem are by no means incorrect.
Synonyms & Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.