satem

[sah-tuh m] /ˈsɑ təm/
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.
Compare centum2 .
Origin
1900-05; < Avestan satəm hundred (cognate with Latin centum; see centum2), exemplifying in s- the outcome of Indo-European palatal stops characteristic of the group
Examples from the web for satem
  • Labiovelars survived and evolved in the centum languages, while palato-velars survived and evolved in satem languages.
British Dictionary definitions for satem

satem

/ˈsɑːtəm; ˈseɪ-/
adjective
1.
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 Origin
from Avestan satəm hundred; chosen to exemplify the variation of initial s with initial k (as in centum) in Indo-European languages