Etymograph

English

amnesia

Amnesia comes from Ancient Greek ἀμνησία ‘forgetfulness’, from μιμνήσκω ‘to remind, to remember’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-1‘to remember, think’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mneh₂-2‘to remind’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμιμνήσκω1mimnḗskō‘to remind, to remember’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμνησία1amnēsía‘forgetfulness’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamnesia1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2009amnesia1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English amnesia
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μιμνήσκω, which cites Beekes, Rix
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Stacey D’Erasmo, Glory Days: “I lay around my Barnard dorm room listening to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-Wiktionary, English amnesia‘to remember, think’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mneh₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μιμνήσκω, which cites Beekes, Rix‘to remind’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμιμνήσκωWiktionary, English amnesiamimnḗskō‘to remind, to remember’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμνησίαWiktionary, English amnesiaamnēsía‘forgetfulness’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamnesiaWiktionary, English amnesia
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2009amnesiaWiktionary, English amnesia. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Stacey D’Erasmo, Glory Days: “I lay around my Barnard dorm room listening to…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to remember, think’

mind, money, music, amount, comment, mental, mouth, remain, mention, mountain, museum, monster, auto, mount, min, permanent, monitor, demonstration, mentor, monk, mint, monetary, monument, maya, monte, monastery, muse, mosaic, dementia, summon, menace, ming, mas, mandarin, mantra, imminent, mont, muster, monstrous, prominence, 122 more

through Proto-Indo-European *mneh₂- ‘to remind’

mnemonic, 2 more

Today it means

noun Loss of memory; forgetfulness.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “amnesia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek μιμνήσκω. 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 *men- / amnesia

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