Etymograph

English

eikositriophobia

Eikositriophobia comes from Ancient Greek εἴκοσι ‘twenty’, from Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’, and ultimately from *dwi- ‘two’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwi-1‘two’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥1‘ten’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(h₁)wídḱm̥ti1h₁‘twenty’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ewī́kəti1reconstructed
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἴκοσι2eíkosi‘twenty’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2023eikositriophobia2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εἴκοσι
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English eikositriophobia
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, T.W. Tramm, Why 2023 Is the Highest Rapture Watch Ever: “Though not biblical, the “23 enigma” is a phenomenon…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwi-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εἴκοσι‘two’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εἴκοσι‘ten’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(h₁)wídḱm̥tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek εἴκοσιh₁‘twenty’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ewī́kətiWiktionary, Ancient Greek εἴκοσιreconstructed
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἴκοσιWiktionary, English eikositriophobiaeíkosi‘twenty’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2023eikositriophobiaWiktionary, English eikositriophobia. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, T.W. Tramm, Why 2023 Is the Highest Rapture Watch Ever: “Though not biblical, the “23 enigma” is a phenomenon…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dwi- ‘two’

with, double, pimpernel, 22 more

through Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’

ten, century, cent, hundred, dick, decade, dean, dozen, den, sen, diner, decimal, hectare, tenfold, denier, deca, dwt, doyen, deni, 49 more

Today it means

noun Fear of the number twenty-three.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “eikositriophobia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek εἴκοσι. 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 *dwi- / eikositriophobia

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