Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “syntax” come from?

Syntax comes from French syntaxe, from Ancient Greek σύνταξις, from Ancient Greek τάξις meaning arrangement or order, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots related to putting or setting in place.

syntax (English): A set of rules that govern how words are combined...

Definitions

  1. A set of rules that govern how words are combined...

Ancestry of “syntax”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinsyntaxissyntaxis, syntax
2Ancient Greekσύνταξιςan arranging, putting in order; array,...
3Ancient Greekσυντάσσωarrange together”, “to order
4Ancient Greekσῠν-together; with, together
5Ancient Greekσύνbeside, with
6Proto-Hellenic*ksún—

Words derived from “syntax”

  • morphosyntax
  • protosyntax
  • metasyntax
  • syntaxless
  • lexicosyntax
  • syntaxeme
  • nanosyntax
  • morpho-syntax
Every word from Proto-Hellenic *ksún →