English
astrology
Astrology comes from Latin astrologia ‘astronomy’, from Ancient Greek ἀστρολογία ‘telling of the stars’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect, gather’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-1‘to collect, gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*légō1‘to gather’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλέγω2‘to put in order, arrange, gather’next step skipped: Ancient Greek ἀστήρ
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄστρον3ástron‘star, planet, or constellation’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀστρολογία3astrología‘telling of the stars’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEastrologia3‘astronomy’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600astrologie3
- Englishearliest quotation 1971astrology3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek λέγω
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek -λόγος
- 3 Wiktionary, English astrology
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic: “For if astronomy is the study of the movements…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek λέγω‘to collect, gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*légōWiktionary, Ancient Greek λέγω‘to gather’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλέγωWiktionary, Ancient Greek -λόγος‘to put in order, arrange, gather’next step skipped: Ancient Greek ἀστήρ
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄστρονWiktionary, English astrologyástron‘star, planet, or constellation’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀστρολογίαWiktionary, English astrologyastrología‘telling of the stars’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEastrologiaWiktionary, English astrology‘astronomy’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600astrologieWiktionary, English astrology
- Englishearliest quotation 1971astrologyWiktionary, English astrology. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic: “For if astronomy is the study of the movements…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect, gather’
election, collection, lesson, select, elite, eligible, collect, elect, logic, elegant, legion, coil, negligence, negligible, apology, negligent, leach, diligent, analogy, sociology, trilogy, terminology, logos, physiology, pathology, cull, monologue, archaeologist, logistic, pathologist, legation, prologue, eulogy, lignite, lignin, homologous, etymology, epistemology, entomology, ineligibility, 161 more
through Proto-Hellenic *légō ‘to gather’
through Ancient Greek λέγω ‘to put in order, arrange, gather’
technology, catalogue, lexicon, lexical, epilogue, dialectic, alexia, lexis, cosmology, gynecologist, dialogic, 20 more
through Ancient Greek ἄστρον ‘star, planet, or constellation’
Today it means
noun Divination about human affairs or natural phenomena from the relative positions of celestial bodies.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “astrology”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek λέγω, Ancient Greek -λόγος. 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 *leǵ- / astrology