English
eleutherophobia
Eleutherophobia comes from Ancient Greek ἐλευθερία ‘freedom’, from ἐλεύθερος ‘free’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- ‘to grow up’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁lewdʰ-1‘to grow up’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁léwdʰeros1‘free’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*eléutʰeros1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐλεύθερος2‘free’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐλευθερία3eleuthería‘freedom’
- Englishtodayeleutherophobia3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐλεύθερος
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐλευθερία
- 3 Wiktionary, English eleutherophobia
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁lewdʰ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐλεύθερος‘to grow up’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁léwdʰerosWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐλεύθερος‘free’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*eléutʰerosWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐλεύθεροςreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐλεύθεροςWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐλευθερία‘free’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐλευθερίαWiktionary, English eleutherophobiaeleuthería‘freedom’
- EnglishtodayeleutherophobiaWiktionary, English eleutherophobia
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- ‘to grow up’
liberation, liberalism, leed, illiberal, 10 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁léwdʰeros ‘free’
liberal, liberty, liberate, libre, liberator, libertine, libero, 7 more
Today it means
noun Fear of freedom.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “eleutherophobia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ἐλεύθερος, Ancient Greek ἐλευθερία. 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 *h₁lewdʰ- / eleutherophobia