Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “paranoid” come from?

Paranoid comes from English paranoia, derived from Ancient Greek -ειδής (meaning "form" or "appearance"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European weyd- ("to see") and per- ("forward").

paranoid (English): Of, related to, or suffering from paranoia;...

Definitions

  1. Of, related to, or suffering from paranoia;...

Ancestry of “paranoid”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-oidOf similar form to, but not the same as. Having...
2Latin-oides-like, -form
3Greek-οending for "accusative singular" forms ; and some...
4Ancient GreekεἶδοςThat which is seen: form, image, shape;...
5Spanish-scopio-scope
6Latin-scopium—
7Ancient GreekσκοπέωI look, look at, behold; I examine, inspect; 413...
8Ancient Greekσκοπόςwatcher, lookout; protector, guardian; spy, scout
9Ancient GreekσκέπτομαιI look at, examine; I examine, consider, think
10Proto-Hellenicsképťomaito look at
11Proto-Indo-Europeanspéḱyetito be looking at, to keep looking at
12Proto-Indo-Europeanspeḱ-to see, to look, to observe

Words derived from “paranoid”

  • nonparanoid
  • unparanoid
  • paranoidly
  • ultraparanoid
Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- →