Etymology Explorer › Late Latin

Where does “hyphen” come from?

hyphen (Late Latin) comes from Ancient Greek ὑφέν, from Ancient Greek ἕν, from Ancient Greek εἷς, from Proto-Hellenic hens, from Proto-Indo-European sḗm, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.

Ancestry of “hyphen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekὑφένin one word, in a single word; hyphen
2Ancient Greekἕνneuter nominative/accusative/vocative singular of...
3Ancient Greekεἷςone
4Proto-Hellenichenscardinal number 1 Previous: n/a Next: *dúwō;...
5Proto-Indo-Europeansḗmone
6Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem- →