Etymograph

English

daimonian

Daimonian comes from Ancient Greek δαιμόνιον ‘of a demon’, from δαιμόνῐος ‘extraordinary, divine’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- ‘to share, to divide’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-1‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαι1daíomai‘to divide’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίμων2‘god, divine power, evil spirit’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαιμόνῐος3daimónĭos‘extraordinary, divine’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαιμόνιον4daimónion‘of a demon’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1906daimonian4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμων
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαιμόνιος
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαιμόνιον
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English daimonian
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, George Robert Stow Mead, Commentaries and Notes: “Draw nigh them daimonian! Why so fearest the Argives?”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμων‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαιWiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμωνdaíomai‘to divide’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίμωνWiktionary, Ancient Greek δαιμόνιος‘god, divine power, evil spirit’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαιμόνῐοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek δαιμόνιονdaimónĭos‘extraordinary, divine’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαιμόνιονWiktionary, English daimoniandaimónion‘of a demon’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1906daimonianWiktionary, English daimonian. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, George Robert Stow Mead, Commentaries and Notes: “Draw nigh them daimonian! Why so fearest the Argives?”

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’

demonic, demonize, 14 more

through Ancient Greek δαίμων ‘god, divine power, evil spirit’

demon, daemon, 16 more

Today it means

noun A daimon, especially that which inspired or warned Socrates.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “daimonian”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek δαίμων, Ancient Greek δαιμόνιος, Ancient Greek δαιμόνιον. 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- / daimonian

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