Etymology Explorer › Latin

Where does “amnesia” come from?

amnesia (Latin) comes from Ancient Greek ἀμνησία, from Ancient Greek ἀ-, from Proto-Hellenic hə-, from Proto-Indo-European sm̥-, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.

Ancestry of “amnesia”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekἀμνησίαforgetfulness
2Ancient Greekἀ-The alpha privativum, used to make words that...
3Proto-Hellenichə-same; together
4Proto-Indo-Europeansm̥-one; with, together
5Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one

Words derived from “amnesia”

  • amnesia
  • amnesic
  • amnesiac
  • cryptomnesia
  • nonamnesic
  • cryptomnesic
  • cryptomnesically
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem- →