Etymograph

English

autophanous

Autophanous comes from Ancient Greek φαίνω ‘appear, shine’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-1‘to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₂-n-yé-ti1reconstructedthematic yé-present of *bʰeh₂-
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰáňňō1‘to appear’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφαίνω2phaínō‘appear, shine’
  5. Englishtodayautophanous2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φαίνω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English autophanous

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φαίνω‘to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₂-n-yé-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek φαίνωreconstructedthematic yé-present of *bʰeh₂-
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰáňňōWiktionary, Ancient Greek φαίνω‘to appear’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφαίνωWiktionary, English autophanousphaínō‘appear, shine’
  5. EnglishtodayautophanousWiktionary, English autophanous

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine’

phone, professor, focus, fuel, ben, favor, famous, favourite, fate, ban, fame, profession, fatal, bee, fairy, photographer, confession, abandon, infant, confess, fabulous, beacon, beck, symphony, boon, eff, fab, fay, fable, foyer, bane, buoy, profess, prophetic, banish, bene, infamy, nefarious, banal, beek, 115 more

through Proto-Hellenic *pʰáňňō ‘to appear’

phase, 41 more

through Ancient Greek φαίνω ‘appear, shine’

fantasy, fancy, emphasis, phenomenon, phantom, fantasia, epiphany, phenomenology, phenomenally, phenol, phenom, tryptophan, phantasm, 40 more

Today it means

adj Producing its own light.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “autophanous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek φαίνω. 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 *bʰeh₂- / autophanous

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