Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Monopoly” come from?

Monopoly (English) comes from Latin monopōlium, from Ancient Greek μονοπώλιον, from Ancient Greek μόνος, from Ancient Greek σπέρμα, from Proto-Hellenic *spérmə.

Ancestry of “Monopoly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinmonopōlium—
2Ancient Greekμονοπώλιονright of monopoly; an entity possessing a...
3Ancient Greekμόνοςalone, forsaken, solitary; only; unique
4Ancient Greekσπέρμαseed; semen, sperm; seed-time, sowing
5Proto-Hellenic*spérmə—

Words derived from “Monopoly”

  • get out of jail free card
Every word from Proto-Hellenic *spérmə →