Etymograph

English

amphibole

Amphibole comes from Ancient Greek ἀμφίβολος ‘ambiguous’, from ἀμφιβάλλω ‘to waver, to hesitate’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to hit by throwing’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-1‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnō1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλω2‘to throw’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμφιβάλλω3‘to waver, to hesitate’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμφίβολος4amphíbolos‘ambiguous’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentamphibole4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2017amphibole4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀμφιβάλλω
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀμφίβολος
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English amphibole
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2017, Jason Isbell: “Remember when we could see the mountain's peak? The…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnōWiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀμφιβάλλω‘to throw’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμφιβάλλωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀμφίβολος‘to waver, to hesitate’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμφίβολοςWiktionary, English amphiboleamphíbolos‘ambiguous’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentamphiboleWiktionary, English amphibole
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2017amphiboleWiktionary, English amphibole. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2017, Jason Isbell: “Remember when we could see the mountain's peak? The…”

The story

From French amphibole, coined by René Just Haüy from Ancient Greek ἀμφίβολος (amphíbolos, “ambiguous”), in reference to its many forms.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to hit by throwing’

ball, quail, quill, quell, obelisk, pul, 63 more

through Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō

symbolic, ballistic, ballista, symbolist, 34 more

through Ancient Greek βάλλω ‘to throw’

problem, devil, symbol, emblem, metabolic, parable, hyperbolic, parabolic, embolism, anabolic, metabolize, hyperbola, 33 more

Today it means

noun Any of a large group of structurally similar hydrated double silicate minerals, containing various combinations of sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and aluminium.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “amphibole”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek βάλλω, Ancient Greek ἀμφιβάλλω, Ancient Greek ἀμφίβολος. 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 *gʷelH- / amphibole

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