Etymograph

English

anemone

Anemone comes from Latin anemōnē ‘windflower, anemone’, from Ancient Greek ἄνεμος ‘wind’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- ‘breathe’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁-1‘breathe’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁mos1‘breath’uncertainnominal derivative of *h₂enh₁-
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ánemos1‘wind’uncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄνεμος2ánemos‘wind’uncertain
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀνεμώνη2anemṓnē‘poppy anemone’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanemōnē2‘windflower, anemone’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1920anemone2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄνεμος
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English anemone
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds: “Here (it was said) every year the youth Adonis…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄνεμος‘breathe’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enh₁mosWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄνεμος‘breath’uncertainnominal derivative of *h₂enh₁-
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ánemosWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄνεμος‘wind’uncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄνεμοςWiktionary, English anemoneánemos‘wind’uncertain
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀνεμώνηWiktionary, English anemoneanemṓnē‘poppy anemone’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanemōnēWiktionary, English anemone‘windflower, anemone’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1920anemoneWiktionary, English anemone. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds: “Here (it was said) every year the youth Adonis…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- ‘breathe’

and, asthma, unanimously, inhale, anima, exhalation, prana, onde, 17 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos ‘breath’

animal, anime, unanimous, animate, animosity, animator, animus, 12 more

Today it means

noun Any plant of the genus Anemone, of the Ranunculaceae (or buttercup) family, such as the windflower.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “anemone”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek ἄνεμος. 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 *h₂enh₁- / anemone

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