Where does “Hercules” come from?
Hercules (Latin) comes from Etruscan 𐌇𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌋𐌄, from Ancient Greek Ἡρακλῆς, from Ancient Greek -κλῆς, from Ancient Greek -κλέης, from Ancient Greek κλέος, from Proto-Hellenic kléwos, from Proto-Indo-European ḱléwos, from Proto-Indo-European ḱlew- — to cover; to incline.
Ancestry of “Hercules”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Etruscan | 𐌇𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌋𐌄 | — |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | Ἡρακλῆς | Heracles |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | -κλῆς | An element found in given names |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -κλέης | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | κλέος | rumour, report; good report, fame, glory; bad... |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | kléwos | fame |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱléwos | fame |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱlew- | to hear |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱel- | to cover; to incline |