Etymograph

English

ego

Ego comes from Latin ego ‘I’, from Proto-Italic *egō ‘I’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂ ‘I’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*éǵh₂1‘I’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*egō1‘I’reconstructed
  3. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEeco1
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEego1‘I’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1954ego1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ego
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Calvin S. Hall: “In the well adjusted person the ego is the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*éǵh₂Wiktionary, English ego‘I’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*egōWiktionary, English ego‘I’reconstructed
  3. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEecoWiktionary, English ego
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEegoWiktionary, English ego‘I’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1954egoWiktionary, English ego. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Calvin S. Hall: “In the well adjusted person the ego is the…”

The story

Chosen by Freud’s translator as a translation of his use of German Ich as a noun for this concept from the pronoun ich (‘I’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂ ‘I’

myself, ch, az, ich, mee, 4 more

through Latin ego ‘I’

noose, egoism, egotism, egoist, 2 more

Today it means

noun The self, especially with a sense of self-importance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ego”. 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 *éǵh₂ / ego

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