*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -plast

Etymology tree Proto-Hellenic *plátʰyō Proto-Hellenic *plát͏̌t͏̌ō? Ancient Greek πλᾰ́σσω (plắssō) Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τός (-tós) Ancient Greek πλᾰστός (plăstós)der. English -plas

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

A small body, structure, particle, or granule, especially of living matter. · A plastid.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Hellenic *plátʰyō Proto-Hellenic *plát͏̌t͏̌ō? Ancient Greek πλᾰ́σσω (plắssō) Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τός (-tós) Ancient Greek πλᾰστός (plăstós)der. English -plast Derived from Ancient Greek πλᾰστός (plăstós, “molded, formed”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "grc:πλᾰστός<t:molded, formed>",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Hellenic *plátʰyō\nProto-Hellenic *plát͏̌t͏̌ō?\nAncient Greek πλᾰ́σσω (plắssō)\nProto-Indo-European *-tós\nProto-Hellenic *-tós\nAncient Greek -τός (-tós)\nAncient Greek πλᾰστός (plăstós)der.\nEnglish -plast\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"molded, formed\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"to form\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"term\" : \"*plátʰyō\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"term\" : \"*pláťťō\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"πλᾰ́σσω\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" }, { \"id\" : \"verbal adjectives\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"verbal adjectives\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-tós\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"term\" : \"*-tós\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"-τός\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"πλᾰστός\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-plast\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-plast\">\nDerived from Ancient Greek πλᾰστός (plăstós, “molded, formed”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "grc:πλᾰστός<t:molded, formed>",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Hellenic *plátʰyō\nProto-Hellenic *plát͏̌t͏̌ō?\nAncient Greek πλᾰ́σσω (plắssō)\nProto-Indo-European *-tós\nProto-Hellenic *-tós\nAncient Greek -τός (-tós)\nAncient Greek πλᾰστός (plăstós)der.\nEnglish -plast\nDerived from Ancient Greek πλᾰστός (plăstós, “molded, formed”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*plátʰyō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Hellenic/plátʰyō"
    ],
    [
      "*plát͏̌t͏̌ō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Hellenic/plát͏̌t͏̌ō"
    ],
    [
      "πλᾰ́σσω",
      "πλάσσω#Ancient_Greek:_to_form"
    ],
    [
      "*-tós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-tós#Proto-Indo-European:_verbal_adjectives"
    ],
    [
      "*-tós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Hellenic/-tós"
    ],
    [
      "-τός",
      "-τός#Ancient_Greek:_verbal_adjectives"
    ],
    [
      "πλᾰστός",
      "πλαστός#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "πλᾰστός",
      "πλαστός#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "A small body, structure, particle, or granule, especially of living matter.",
        "A plastid."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "b317500bb651354c0d1eb7045b60cfaeb09592cf9226e9f0fc290a97979c5279",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d039cd847aef90d8a7ae7f463c79dcf1aee7f9ba38f1d108944a7d7b78a78fd9",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 273329
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -plast →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LXBsYXN0