period

Where does the word "period" come from? It comes from Greek periodos, passing through Latin before entering English (1400s).

Period’s story begins in Greek: periodos meant “going around.” 'peri', around, plus 'hodos', way: a cycle. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Latin as periodus. Used in rhetoric for a complete sentence. It reached English by 1400s as period. Americans call the full stop a 'period', from the mark ending a sentence. Today, period means a length of time; the punctuation mark ending a sentence (US).

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient periodos "going around", 'peri', around, plus 'hodos', way: a cycle.
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient periodus "complete sentence", used in rhetoric for a complete sentence.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1400s period "a length of time; full stop", Americans call the full stop a 'period', from the mark ending a sentence.