English
allophony
Allophony comes from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́λλος ‘the other, all others, all besides, the rest’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-1‘beyond, other’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂élyos1‘other, another’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ál͏̌l͏̌os1‘other, another’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓́λλος1ắllos‘the other, all others, all besides, the rest’
- Englishtodayallophony1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English allophony
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-Wiktionary, English allophony‘beyond, other’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂élyosWiktionary, English allophony‘other, another’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ál͏̌l͏̌osWiktionary, English allophony‘other, another’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓́λλοςWiktionary, English allophonyắllos‘the other, all others, all besides, the rest’
- EnglishtodayallophonyWiktionary, English allophony
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘beyond, other’
as, all, old, adult, el, ultimate, element, ultra, elder, alter, ellen, outrage, ou, altitude, alumni, qualification, altar, adolescent, alt, abolish, alpine, alias, alto, alum, proletariat, retaliate, auld, ulterior, alienation, alienate, alp, alimony, inalienable, coalesce, exalt, foetal, althea, aad, eld, altimeter, 57 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos ‘other, another’
else, alien, alternate, adultery, alibi, altercation, altruism, parallax, alternation, 31 more
Today it means
noun Variation in the phonetic realizations of a phoneme; the state of a phoneme having multiple allophones.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “allophony”. 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 *h₂el- / allophony