Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “herpes” come from?

Herpes comes from Latin herpes, from Ancient Greek ἕρπης, derived from the verb ἕρπειν meaning to creep or crawl, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European serp-.

herpes (English): A viral infection, caused by Human...

Definitions

  1. A viral infection, caused by Human...

Ancestry of “herpes”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinherpesherpes; an unknown sort of animal, perhaps a kind...
2Ancient Greekἕρπηςherpes, shingles
3Latinanginachoking, suffocation; quinsy, tonsillitis
4Latinangeresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
5LatinangoI bind, draw, press together; choke, throttle,...
6Proto-Italicanɣō—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂enǵʰ-to constrict, tighten, compress; narrow, tight;...

Words derived from “herpes”

  • herpesvirus
  • herpesviral
  • antiherpes
  • antiherpesvirus
  • postherpes
  • herpetism
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂enǵʰ- →