Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “archaism” come from?

Archaism derives from Ancient Greek ἀρχαϊσμός, built from ἀρχαίζειν (to imitate the ancients) and ἀρχαῖος (ancient), ultimately from ἀρχή (beginning, origin) and ἄρχω (to begin, rule), rooted in Proto-Indo-European h₂ergʰ-.

archaism (English): The adoption or imitation of archaic words or...

Definitions

  1. The adoption or imitation of archaic words or...

Ancestry of “archaism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1New Latinarchaismus—
2Ancient Greekἀρχαϊσμόςold-world charm; use of obsolete expressions,...
3Ancient GreekἀρχαΐζωI am old-fashioned, copy the ancients
4Ancient Greek-ίζωUsed to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and...
5Proto-Hellenic-íďďō—
6Proto-Indo-European-idyéti—
7Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
9Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “archaism”

  • archaic
  • archaicism
  • unarchaic
  • pseudoarchaic
  • nonarchaic
  • hyperarchaic
  • hyperarchaism
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