Etymograph

English

dracaena

Dracaena comes from Latin dracaena ‘a she-dragon’, and goes back to Ancient Greek δράκων.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδράκων1‘dragon’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδράκαινᾰ2drákaină‘she-dragon’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdracaena2‘a she-dragon’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2022dracaena2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δράκαινα
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English dracaena
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2022, Melissa Kirsch, Garden Varieties: ““Again with this?” I groaned to the dracaenae. (“Talk…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδράκωνWiktionary, Ancient Greek δράκαινα‘dragon’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδράκαινᾰWiktionary, English dracaenadrákaină‘she-dragon’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdracaenaWiktionary, English dracaena‘a she-dragon’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2022dracaenaWiktionary, English dracaena. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2022, Melissa Kirsch, Garden Varieties: ““Again with this?” I groaned to the dracaenae. (“Talk…”

Linked words

through Ancient Greek δράκων ‘dragon’

dragon, drake, draconian, tarragon, dragoon, 15 more

Today it means

noun Any of the genus Dracaena of liliaceous plants with woody stems and funnel-shaped flowers.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dracaena”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek δράκαινα. 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 δράκων / dracaena

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