Etymograph

English

anarchy

Anarchy comes from New Latin anarchia ‘the state of not having a ruler or leader’, from Ancient Greek ἀρχή ‘beginning, origin’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, put together’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-1‘to fit, put together’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂r̥-sḱe-ti1‘to start, rule’uncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄρχω2‘to begin, to be first in order’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀρχή3‘beginning, origin’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄναρχος4‘without leader’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀναρχία5anarkhía‘lack of a leader’
  7. New Latinc. 1500–1900anarchia5‘the state of not having a ruler or leader’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1819anarchy5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄρχω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀρχή
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄναρχος
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀναρχία
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English anarchy
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1819, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Masque of Anarchy. A Poem. […]: “And each dweller, panic-stricken, Felt his heart with terror…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄρχω‘to fit, put together’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂r̥-sḱe-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄρχω‘to start, rule’uncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄρχωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀρχή‘to begin, to be first in order’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀρχήWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄναρχος‘beginning, origin’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄναρχοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀναρχία‘without leader’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀναρχίαWiktionary, English anarchyanarkhía‘lack of a leader’
  7. New Latinc. 1500–1900anarchiaWiktionary, English anarchy‘the state of not having a ruler or leader’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1819anarchyWiktionary, English anarchy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1819, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Masque of Anarchy. A Poem. […]: “And each dweller, panic-stricken, Felt his heart with terror…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, put together’

order, reason, ready, rate, art, article, army, artist, arm, ratio, ordinary, alarm, harmony, coordination, armor, coordinate, arthritis, articulate, subordinate, ordination, arithmetic, inertia, harmonic, ornament, inert, aristocratic, adorn, harmonious, ornate, articulation, artisan, armament, ordinate, rta, ordinator, armadillo, rime, harmonize, ordain, ordinal, 77 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥-sḱe-ti ‘to start, rule’

archon, 10 more

through Ancient Greek ἄρχω ‘to begin, to be first in order’

archive, arch, 15 more

through Ancient Greek ἀρχή ‘beginning, origin’

archaic, archetype, arche, 7 more

Today it means

noun The state of a society being without authorities or an authoritative governing body.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “anarchy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ἄρχω, Ancient Greek ἀρχή, Ancient Greek ἄναρχος, Ancient Greek ἀναρχία. 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 *h₂er- / anarchy

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