English
daemon
Daemon comes from Latin daemōn ‘tutelary deity’, from Ancient Greek δαίομαι ‘to divide’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-1‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαι1daíomai‘to divide’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίμων2daímōn‘dispenser, tutelary deity’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdaemōn2‘tutelary deity’
- Englishearliest quotation 2012daemon2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμων
- 2 Wiktionary, English daemon
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, Stefan Zweig, The Struggle with the Daemon: Hölderlin: “That is why those of exceptionally "daemonic temperament", those…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμων‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαιWiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμωνdaíomai‘to divide’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίμωνWiktionary, English daemondaímōn‘dispenser, tutelary deity’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdaemōnWiktionary, English daemon‘tutelary deity’
- Englishearliest quotation 2012daemonWiktionary, English daemon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2012, Stefan Zweig, The Struggle with the Daemon: Hölderlin: “That is why those of exceptionally "daemonic temperament", those…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- ‘to share, to divide’
time, till, tide, til, tease, tass, 22 more
through Ancient Greek δαίομαι ‘to divide’
through Ancient Greek δαίμων ‘dispenser, tutelary deity’
through Latin daemōn ‘tutelary deity’
Today it means
noun A minor deity or divinity.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “daemon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek δαίμων. 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 *deh₂y- / daemon