Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “diary” come from?

Diary comes from Latin diarium, derived from the adjective diarius meaning "daily," which is based on Latin dies meaning "day."

diary (English): A daily log of experiences, especially those of...

Definitions

  1. A daily log of experiences, especially those of...

Ancestry of “diary”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latindiarius—
2LatindiesA day, "particularly:"
3Latindiemaccusative singular of diēs
4Proto-Italicdjēmaccusative singular of *djous
5Proto-Italic*djous—
6Proto-Indo-Europeandyḗwssky, heaven; sky god
7Proto-Indo-Europeandyéws—
8Proto-Indo-Europeandyew-to be bright; sky, heaven

Words derived from “diary”

  • diarist
  • diaristic
  • diarized
  • diarylike
  • diarial
  • diarism
  • diarize
  • nondiary
  • diaristically
  • cyberdiary
  • e-diary
  • डायरी
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dyew- →