Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Philip” come from?

Philip derives from Ancient Greek Φίλιππος, combining φίλος meaning friend with a root from Proto-Indo-European h₁éḱwos horse, literally friend-horse.

Ancestry of “Philip”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishPhilip—
2Ancient Greekφίλιπποςfond of horses
3Ancient GreekφιλέωI love, like, regard highly; I treat kindly,...
4Ancient Greekἀτέλεια—
5Ancient Greekἀ-The alpha privativum, used to make words that...
6Proto-Hellenichə-same; together
7Proto-Indo-Europeansm̥-one; with, together
8Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one

Words derived from “Philip”

  • Phil
  • Phillips
  • Fill
  • Phillip
  • Phelps
  • Philips
  • Phillipson
  • Philpot
  • Philpott
  • Filson
  • Philipps
  • Philp
  • Philipson
  • Phillipsburg
  • Philbin
  • Filkins
  • Phipson
  • Phillott
  • Philpin
  • Phillpot
  • Filkin
  • Phillpott
  • Philps
  • Phipp
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem- →