Where does “hyphen” come from?
Hyphen comes from Ancient Greek ὑφέν, contracted from ὑφ' ἕν meaning "under one," from ἕν and εἷς deriving from Proto-Hellenic hens and ultimately Proto-Indo-European sḗm and sem-.
hyphen (English): The symbol "‐", typically used to join two or...
Definitions
- The symbol "‐", typically used to join two or...
Ancestry of “hyphen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | hyphen | — |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | ὑφέν | in one word, in a single word; hyphen |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | ἕν | neuter nominative/accusative/vocative singular of... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | εἷς | one |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | hens | cardinal number 1 Previous: n/a Next: *dúwō;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sḗm | one |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sem- | together, one |