Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “thesaurus” come from?

Thesaurus comes from Latin thesaurus, from Ancient Greek θησαυρός, meaning a store or treasure.

thesaurus (English): A publication, usually in the form of a book,...

Definitions

  1. A publication, usually in the form of a book,...

Ancestry of “thesaurus”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinthēsaurus—
2Ancient Greekθησαυρόςtreasure; vault, repository, chest
3Ancient GreekτίθημιI put, place, set; I make, cause to be; I make
4Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁-to do, put, place

Words derived from “thesaurus”

  • thesauric
  • minithesaurus
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁- →