English
adamancy
Adamancy comes from Ancient Greek ἀδάμας ‘adamant, the hardest metal’, from δαμνάω ‘conquer’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- ‘to tame, domesticate’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*demh₂-1‘to tame, domesticate’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαμνάω1damnáō‘conquer’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀδάμας2adámas‘adamant, the hardest metal’
- Englishearliest quotation 1979adamancy2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀδάμας, which cites Beekes
- 2 Wiktionary, English adamancy
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Andy Beck, Parents of Gays: “Knowing the stubbornness and adamancy of born-again Christians, they're…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*demh₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀδάμας, which cites Beekes‘to tame, domesticate’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαμνάωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀδάμας, which cites Beekesdamnáō‘conquer’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀδάμαςWiktionary, English adamancyadámas‘adamant, the hardest metal’
- Englishearliest quotation 1979adamancyWiktionary, English adamancy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Andy Beck, Parents of Gays: “Knowing the stubbornness and adamancy of born-again Christians, they're…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- ‘to tame, domesticate’
through Ancient Greek δαμνάω ‘conquer’
Today it means
noun The property of being adamant.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “adamancy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek ἀδάμας. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- / adamancy