satem

[ sah-tuhm ]

adjective

1. belonging to or consisting of those branches of the Indo-European family in which alveolar or palatal fricatives, as the sounds (s) or (sh), developed in ancient times from Proto-Indo-European palatal stops: the satem branches are Indo-Iranian, Armenian, Slavic, Baltic, and Albanian.

satem

/ ˈseɪ-; ˈsɑːtəm /

adjective

1. See centum
   denoting or belonging to the group of Indo-European languages in which original velar stops became palatalized (k > s or / ʃ /). These languages belong to the Indic, Iranian, Armenian, Slavonic, Baltic, and Albanian branches and are traditionally regarded as the E group Compare centum

Word History and Origins

Origin of satem¹

1900–05; < Avestan satəm hundred (cognate with Latin centum; centum ² ), exemplifying in s- the outcome of Indo-European palatal stops characteristic of the group

Word History and Origins

Origin of satem¹

from Avestan sat ə m hundred; chosen to exemplify the variation of initial s with initial k (as in centum ) in Indo-European languages