Where does “lesbian” come from?

Lesbian derives from Latin Lesbiana, from Ancient Greek Λέσβος with the Latin suffix -ianus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -yós via Proto-Italic -os.

lesbian (English): Homosexual, gay; preferring mostly or exclusively...

Definitions

  1. Homosexual, gay; preferring mostly or exclusively...

Ancestry of “lesbian”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinLesbiusLesbian
2Ancient GreekΛέσβιοςLesbian
3Ancient GreekΛέσβοςLesbos
4Hittite𒌷𒆷𒊍𒉺Lesbos
5Akkadian𒉺overseer; foreman; instructor

Words derived from “lesbian”

Every word from Akkadian 𒉺 →