Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “emphatic” come from?

Emphatic derives from Ancient Greek ἐμφατικός, from ἐμφαίνω meaning to show or display, from φαίνω meaning to appear or shine, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂- meaning to shine.

emphatic (English): Characterized by emphasis; forceful; Stated with...

Definitions

  1. Characterized by emphasis; forceful; Stated with...

Ancestry of “emphatic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekἐμφατικόςemphatic
2Ancient Greekἔμφασιςappearance; outward appearance, reflection,...
3Ancient GreekἐμφαίνωI present, I indicate; I show, present
4Ancient Greekἐν-in, within; on
5Ancient Greekἐνin, on, at; among; in, at, or during the time of
6Ancient Greekδέρμαskin, hide
7Ancient Greekγλυφήcarving, carved work; hole cut
8Ancient Greek-ῐ́ᾱ{{l|en|-ia}}; "suffix forming abstract feminine...
9Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
10Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “emphatic”

  • emphatically
  • unemphatic
  • overemphatic
  • unemphatically
  • nonemphatic
  • overemphatically
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →