English
coenoby
Coenoby comes from Late Latin coenobium ‘monastery, convent, cloister’, from Koine Greek κοινόβῐον ‘life in community’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeyh₃-1‘to live’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱóm1‘beside, by’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱomyós2reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*koňňós2reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκοινός1koinós‘common, shared’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκοινόβιος1‘communal living’
- Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEκοινόβῐον1‘life in community’neuter form of κοινόβιος
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcoenobium3‘monastery, convent, cloister’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cenobies3
- Englishtodaycoenoby3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin coenobium
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κοινός
- 3 Wiktionary, English coenoby
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeyh₃-Wiktionary, Latin coenobium‘to live’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱómWiktionary, Latin coenobium‘beside, by’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱomyósWiktionary, Ancient Greek κοινόςreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*koňňósWiktionary, Ancient Greek κοινόςreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκοινόςWiktionary, Latin coenobiumkoinós‘common, shared’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκοινόβιοςWiktionary, Latin coenobium‘communal living’
- Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEκοινόβῐονWiktionary, Latin coenobium‘life in community’neuter form of κοινόβιος
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcoenobiumWiktionary, English coenoby‘monastery, convent, cloister’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cenobiesWiktionary, English coenoby
- EnglishtodaycoenobyWiktionary, English coenoby
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’
quick, vital, biology, kidney, vitamin, viable, couch, vivid, revive, hygiene, zodiac, vive, anaerobic, vivacious, wyvern, vivacity, biogenesis, convivial, 60 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘beside, by’
among, gain, consider, competition, conference, counter, concrete, consistent, cum, con, comply, cue, commodity, compulsory, hind, likeness, contra, compel, concierge, kata, connotation, condiment, limbed, condescend, 31 more
Today it means
noun Synonym of coenobium.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “coenoby”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin coenobium, Ancient Greek κοινός. 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 *gʷeyh₃- / coenoby