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Etymology and origin of the English word conical

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1570 H. Billingsley, translation of Euclid
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek κῶνος

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈkɒn.ɪ.kəl/[1]
  • US: /ˈkɑ.nɪ.kəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English conic + -al;[2][3] the OED and Merriam-Webster describe it as Ancient Greek κωνικός (kōnikós, “cone-shaped”) with the English suffix -al.[4][5] Conic is from New Latin conicus,[2] from the same Greek adjective,[2][4][6] which is from κῶνος (kônos, “cone”), the source of cone.[2][4][6] Klein takes conic through French conique,[6] while the OED notes that the French word is not in Cotgrave's dictionary of 1611.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having the form of a cone, and of or relating to a cone: both 1570, in Henry Billingsley's translation of Euclid's Elements and John Dee's preface to it.[4][5] Etymonline dates the word to the 1560s.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept both of its first senses, the shape and the geometry of a cone.[4][3] Since 1827 it has named a type of map projection,[2] in which a spherical surface is projected onto a cone, usually with its vertex above one of the poles.[3]

Timeline

  • 1570 – having the form of a cone; of or relating to a cone.[4][5] Etymonline dates the word to the 1560s.[2]
  • 1827 – of a type of map projection.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Shaped like a cone; tapering evenly from a round base to a point: a conical tent.[7][5][3][4]
  2. Of or relating to a cone.[7][4]

Word family

  • conically
  • obconical
  • semiconical
  • subconical

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Conical.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/conical. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·