Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “apotropaic” come from?

apotropaic (English) comes from French apotropaïque, from Ancient Greek ἀποτροπή, from Ancient Greek ἀποτρέπω, from Ancient Greek ἀπο-, from Ancient Greek ἀπό, from Ancient Greek Ἥλιος, from Ancient Greek τύπος, from Ancient Greek τύπτω — to push, to hit.

apotropaic (English): Intended to ward off evil; An agent intended to...

Definitions

  1. Intended to ward off evil; An agent intended to...

Ancestry of “apotropaic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchapotropaïque—
2Ancient Greekἀποτροπήdeterrence, dissuasion; prevention
3Ancient Greekἀποτρέπωto avert, ward off
4Ancient Greekἀπο-Indicating movement: away, from, off; Indicating...
5Ancient Greekἀπόfrom, away from; because of, as a result of
6Ancient GreekἭλιοςsun
7Ancient GreekτύποςA blow, pressing; The results of a blow: mark,...
8Ancient Greekτύπτωto beat, strike, smite; to beat, strike oneself
9Proto-Indo-European(s)tewp-to push, to stick
10Proto-Indo-European(s)tew-to push, to hit
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)tew- →