Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Byzantium” come from?

Byzantium comes from Latin Byzantium, from Ancient Greek Byzántion, formed with the Ancient Greek diminutive suffix -ion.

Byzantium (English): A dark shade of purple, close to Tyrian purple...

Definitions

  1. A dark shade of purple, close to Tyrian purple...

Ancestry of “Byzantium”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinBȳzantium—
2Ancient GreekΒυζάντιον—
3Ancient Greek-ῐονdiminutive suffix; "suffix forming...
4Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →