Etymology Explorer › Latin

Where does “panacea” come from?

panacea (Latin) comes from Ancient Greek πανάκεια, from Ancient Greek πανακής, from Ancient Greek πᾶν, from Ancient Greek ὀπτικός, from Ancient Greek ὄψις, from Ancient Greek ὄψ, from Proto-Hellenic wókʷs, from Proto-Indo-European wekʷ- — to speak, to sound out.

Ancestry of “panacea”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekπανάκειαpanacea, universal remedy; Hercules' woundwort;...
2Ancient Greekπανακήςall-healing
3Ancient Greekπᾶνneuter nominative singular of πᾶς; neuter...
4Ancient Greekὀπτικόςof or relating to seeing, sight or vision: optic,...
5Ancient Greekὄψιςview
6Ancient Greekὄψvoice; word; eye, face
7Proto-Hellenicwókʷs—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanwekʷ-to speak, to sound out
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wekʷ- →