Etymograph

English

apparition

Apparition comes from Latin apparitio ‘service, attendance’, from appareo ‘to appear, be visible, come into sight’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂séh₁yeti.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂séh₁yeti1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pāzējō1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pāzēō1‘to appear’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāreō1‘be visible’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEappareo2‘to appear, be visible, come into sight’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapparitio2‘service, attendance’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600apparition2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1599apparition2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin appareo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English apparition
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “I think it is the weakness of mine eyes…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂séh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin appareoreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pāzējōWiktionary, Latin appareoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pāzēōWiktionary, Latin appareo‘to appear’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāreōWiktionary, Latin appareo‘be visible’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEappareoWiktionary, English apparition‘to appear, be visible, come into sight’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapparitioWiktionary, English apparition‘service, attendance’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600apparitionWiktionary, English apparition
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1599apparitionWiktionary, English apparition. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “I think it is the weakness of mine eyes…”

Linked words

through Latin pāreō ‘be visible’

appearance, transparency, 3 more

through Latin appareo ‘to appear, be visible, come into sight’

appear, 3 more

Today it means

noun An act of becoming visible; appearance; visibility.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “apparition”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin appareo. 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 *peh₂séh₁yeti / apparition

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