English
agog
Agog comes from Old French en ‘on’, from Proto-Italic *en ‘in’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁én1‘in’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*en1‘in’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin2‘in, at, on, upon, from (space)’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400en3‘on; upon’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500agogge3
- Englishearliest quotation 1860agog3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin in
- 2 Wiktionary, Old French en
- 3 Wiktionary, English agog
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1860, John Greenleaf Whittier, The Two-Headed Snake of Newbury: “Cotton Mather came galloping down All the way to…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁énWiktionary, Latin in‘in’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*enWiktionary, Latin in‘in’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinWiktionary, Old French en‘in, at, on, upon, from (space)’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400enWiktionary, English agog‘on; upon’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500agoggeWiktionary, English agog
- Englishearliest quotation 1860agogWiktionary, English agog. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1860, John Greenleaf Whittier, The Two-Headed Snake of Newbury: “Cotton Mather came galloping down All the way to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’
in, internal, entrance, indigenous, intern, endo, dysentery, interregnum, enteral, 31 more
through Proto-Italic *en ‘in’
impulse, incense, incubation, incubus, incubate, impel, censer, 7 more
through Latin in ‘in, at, on, upon, from (space)’
encounter, intimate, ensemble, intestine, envelop, emplacement, intimation, 5 more
Today it means
adj In a state of eager desire; full of anticipation; highly excited with curiosity.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “agog”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin in, Old French en. 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 *h₁én / agog