English
amphibologia
Amphibologia comes from Latin amphibolia ‘ambiguity’, from Ancient Greek ἀμφιβάλλω ‘to waver, to hesitate’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to hit by throwing’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-1‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-1reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnō1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλω2‘to throw’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμφιβάλλω3‘to waver, to hesitate’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμφίβολος4amphíbolos‘ambiguous, doubtful’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμφιβολία4‘ambiguity’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamphibolia5‘ambiguity’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamphibologia5alternative form of amphibolia
- Englishtodayamphibologia5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀμφιβάλλω
- 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀμφίβολος
- 4 Wiktionary, Latin amphibolia
- 5 Wiktionary, English amphibologia
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnōWiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀμφιβάλλω‘to throw’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμφιβάλλωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀμφίβολος‘to waver, to hesitate’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμφίβολοςWiktionary, Latin amphiboliaamphíbolos‘ambiguous, doubtful’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀμφιβολίαWiktionary, Latin amphibolia‘ambiguity’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamphiboliaWiktionary, English amphibologia‘ambiguity’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamphibologiaWiktionary, English amphibologiaalternative form of amphibolia
- EnglishtodayamphibologiaWiktionary, English amphibologia
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 Ambiguity of grammatical structure.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “amphibologia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek βάλλω, Ancient Greek ἀμφιβάλλω, Ancient Greek ἀμφίβολος, Latin amphibolia. 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- / amphibologia