Etymograph

English

dogmatic

Dogmatic comes from Ancient Greek δογματικός ‘didactic’, from δόγμα ‘opinion, belief’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to take’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-1‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέχομαι1dékhomai‘to take, accept’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδοκέω2‘to expect, think, suppose, imagine’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδόγμα3‘opinion, belief’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδογματικός4dogmatikós‘didactic’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdogmaticus4
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dogmatique4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1902dogmatic4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δοκέω, which cites Beekes
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δόγμα
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δογματικός
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English dogmatic
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1902, William James, Lecture I: “Dogmatic philosophies have sought for tests for truth which…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deḱ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δοκέω, which cites Beekes‘to take’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέχομαιWiktionary, Ancient Greek δοκέω, which cites Beekesdékhomai‘to take, accept’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδοκέωWiktionary, Ancient Greek δόγμα‘to expect, think, suppose, imagine’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδόγμαWiktionary, Ancient Greek δογματικός‘opinion, belief’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδογματικόςWiktionary, English dogmaticdogmatikós‘didactic’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdogmaticusWiktionary, English dogmatic
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dogmatiqueWiktionary, English dogmatic
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1902dogmaticWiktionary, English dogmatic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1902, William James, Lecture I: “Dogmatic philosophies have sought for tests for truth which…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to take’

doctor, decent, tail, document, dignity, doctrine, decor, paradox, disdain, dainty, indignant, indignation, doctrinal, docile, dodo, dignitary, dox, deign, digne, docent, 55 more

through Ancient Greek δέχομαι ‘to take, accept’

fonda, 14 more

Today it means

adj Adhering only to principles which are true a priori, rather than truths based on evidence or deduction.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dogmatic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek δοκέω, Ancient Greek δόγμα, Ancient Greek δογματικός. 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 *deḱ- / dogmatic

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