Etymograph

English

eidetic

Eidetic comes from Ancient Greek εἰδητικός ‘formal’, from εἶδος ‘form’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéydos1‘seeing, image’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*wéidos1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἶδος2eîdos‘form’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἰδητικός2eidētikós‘formal’
  6. Germanc. 1650–presenteidetisch2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1979eidetic2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εἶδος
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English eidetic
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Kyril Bonfiglioli, After You with the Pistol: “‘Funny that I should remember it? I have an…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εἶδος‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéydosWiktionary, Ancient Greek εἶδος‘seeing, image’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*wéidosWiktionary, Ancient Greek εἶδοςreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἶδοςWiktionary, English eideticeîdos‘form’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἰδητικόςWiktionary, English eideticeidētikós‘formal’
  6. Germanc. 1650–presenteidetischWiktionary, English eidetic
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1979eideticWiktionary, English eidetic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, Kyril Bonfiglioli, After You with the Pistol: “‘Funny that I should remember it? I have an…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’

story, guy, review, visit, video, interview, idea, evidence, provide, advice, vision, witness, historic, wisdom, guide, visa, advise, invisible, wit, wizard, historian, visibility, vista, wisely, evident, witty, revise, guise, envious, prudent, unwise, revue, improvise, jurisprudence, avis, prudence, purview, druid, twit, voyeur, 103 more

through Proto-Indo-European *wéydos ‘seeing, image’

wise, 47 more

through Proto-Hellenic *wéidos

steroidal, eidolon, 47 more

through Ancient Greek εἶδος ‘form’

idol, steroid, tabloid, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, idyll, parathyroid, trapezoid, thyroxine, hyoid, colloid, sigmoid, thyroiditis, 49 more

Today it means

adj Marked by or resulting from extraordinary ability to recall detailed and vivid mental images of visual images.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “eidetic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek εἶδος. 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 *weyd- / eidetic

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