Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “anarchy” come from?

Anarchy comes from New Latin anarchia, from Ancient Greek ἀναρχία, combining ἀν- (without) and ἄρχω (to rule).

anarchy (English): The state of a society being without authorities...

Definitions

  1. The state of a society being without authorities...

Ancestry of “anarchy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1New Latinanarchia—
2Ancient Greekἀναρχίαlack of a leader; lawlessness, anarchy
3Ancient Greekἀν-Alternative form of ἀ- used before a vowel;...
4Ancient Greekὀρθόςstraight, upright, erect; straight forward, in a...
5Proto-Hellenicortʰwós—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃r̥dʰwós—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃erdʰ-to increase, grow; upright, high
8Proto-Indo-European-wósCreates adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “anarchy”

  • anarchism
  • anarchic
  • anarchical
  • anarchically
  • ecoanarchism
  • anarchize
  • anarchology
  • cryptoanarchy
  • anti-anarchism
  • cyberanarchism
  • cyberanarchy
  • post-anarchism
  • crypto-anarchism
  • postanarchism
  • アナキズム
  • 아나키즘
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -wós →