Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “ostracisme” come from?

ostracisme (French) comes from Ancient Greek ὀστρακισμός, from Ancient Greek ὀστρακίζω, from Ancient Greek ὄστρακον, from Ancient Greek δέρμα, from Ancient Greek γλυφή, from Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ, from Proto-Indo-European -íh₂, from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Ancestry of “ostracisme”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekὀστρακισμόςbanishment by means of voting with pot shards
2Ancient GreekὀστρακίζωI ostracize, banish by voting with pot shards; to...
3Ancient Greekὄστρακονearthen vessel; the hard shell of animals such as...
4Ancient Greekδέρμαskin, hide
5Ancient Greekγλυφήcarving, carved work; hole cut
6Ancient Greek-ῐ́ᾱ{{l|en|-ia}}; "suffix forming abstract feminine...
7Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
8Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →