English
discus
Discus comes from Latin discus ‘a discus, quoit’, from Ancient Greek δικεῖν ‘to cast’, and perhaps ultimately from δίκτυον ‘fishing net’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδίκτυον1díktuon‘fishing net’uncertainearlier origin unknown
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδικεῖν2dikeîn‘to cast’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδίσκος3dískos‘disk, quoit, platter’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscus3‘a discus, quoit’
- Englishearliest quotation 1893discus3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δικεῖν, which cites Beekes, Rix
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δίσκος
- 3 Wiktionary, English discus
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1893, K. M. Ganguli, The Mahabharata: “And Narayana instantly cut off with his discus the…”.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδίκτυονWiktionary, Ancient Greek δικεῖν, which cites Beekes, Rixdíktuon‘fishing net’uncertainearlier origin unknown
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδικεῖνWiktionary, Ancient Greek δίσκοςdikeîn‘to cast’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδίσκοςWiktionary, English discusdískos‘disk, quoit, platter’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscusWiktionary, English discus‘a discus, quoit’
- Englishearliest quotation 1893discusWiktionary, English discus. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1893, K. M. Ganguli, The Mahabharata: “And Narayana instantly cut off with his discus the…”
Linked words
through Ancient Greek δίσκος ‘disk, quoit, platter’
through Latin discus ‘a discus, quoit’
Today it means
noun A round plate-like object that is thrown for sport.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “discus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek δικεῖν, Ancient Greek δίσκος. 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 / Ancient Greek δίκτυον / discus