Etymograph

English

aeneus

Aeneus comes from Latin aēneus ‘bronze’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂éyos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éyos1‘a metal, copper, bronze’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ajos ~ *ajesos1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ajesnos1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aeznos1‘brazen, made of bronze’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aezneos1‘brazen, made of bronze’reconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaēneus2‘bronze’
  7. Englishtodayaeneus2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin aeneus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English aeneus

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éyosWiktionary, Latin aeneus‘a metal, copper, bronze’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ajos ~ *ajesosWiktionary, Latin aeneusreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ajesnosWiktionary, Latin aeneusreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aeznosWiktionary, Latin aeneus‘brazen, made of bronze’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aezneosWiktionary, Latin aeneus‘brazen, made of bronze’reconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaēneusWiktionary, English aeneus‘bronze’
  7. EnglishtodayaeneusWiktionary, English aeneus

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey- ‘vital force, life, age, eternity’

early, young, age, diet, junior, juvenile, longevity, ere, enigma, juvenal, 22 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éyos ‘a metal, copper, bronze’

era, 6 more

Today it means

noun A kind of freshwater catfish, the bronze corydoras (Corydoras aeneus).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “aeneus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin aeneus. 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 *h₂éyos / aeneus

Shirt and support for this word