Etymograph

English

electrum

Electrum comes from Latin electrum ‘amber’, and goes back to Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἤλεκτρον1ḗlektron‘amber’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEelectrum1‘amber’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1995electrum1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English electrum
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Paul T. Craddock, Early Metal Mining and Production: “Native gold almost always contains silver in amounts varying…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἤλεκτρονWiktionary, English electrumḗlektron‘amber’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEelectrumWiktionary, English electrum‘amber’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1995electrumWiktionary, English electrum. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Paul T. Craddock, Early Metal Mining and Production: “Native gold almost always contains silver in amounts varying…”

Every English word from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον

Today it means

noun Amber.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “electrum”. 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 ἤλεκτρον / electrum

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