Etymograph

English

argon

Argon comes from Ancient Greek ἀργός ‘idle, lazy’, from ἔργον ‘a work’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- ‘to make’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-1‘to make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wérǵom2‘work’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*wérgon2‘work’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔργον3‘a work’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀργός4argós‘idle, lazy’
  6. Englishtodayargon4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔργον
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀργός
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English argon

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*werǵ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom‘to make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wérǵomWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔργον‘work’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*wérgonWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔργον‘work’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔργονWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀργός‘a work’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀργόςWiktionary, English argonargós‘idle, lazy’
  6. EnglishtodayargonWiktionary, English argon

The story

From Ancient Greek ἀργός (argós, “idle, lazy”), because of its inertness, + -on, used for all noble gases.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- ‘to make’

working, wright, organic, organ, boulevard, wrought, orgasm, liturgy, metallurgy, bulwark, irk, irksome, wark, 21 more

through Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom ‘work’

work, werk, 14 more

through Ancient Greek ἔργον ‘a work’

energy, energetic, allergy, erg, 14 more

Today it means

noun The chemical element (symbol Ar) with an atomic number of 18. The third most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere, it is a colourless, odourless, inert noble gas.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “argon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom, Ancient Greek ἔργον, Ancient Greek ἀργός. 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 *werǵ- / argon

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