Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “drapetomania” come from?

drapetomania (English) comes from Ancient Greek δραπέτης, from Ancient Greek διδράσκω, from Proto-Indo-European dreh₂- — run; to run, escape.

drapetomania (English): The desire of slaves to run away, viewed as a...

Definitions

  1. The desire of slaves to run away, viewed as a...

Ancestry of “drapetomania”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekδραπέτηςa runaway, especially a runaway slave
2Ancient GreekδιδράσκωI run away, escape; run
3Proto-Indo-Europeandreh₂-run; to run, escape
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dreh₂- →