Etymograph

English

elixir

Elixir comes from Medieval Latin elixir ‘philosopher's stone’, from Ancient Greek ξηρίον ‘powder for drying wounds’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kseros ‘dry’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kseros1‘dry’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEξηρός2xērós‘dry’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEξηρίον2xēríon‘powder for drying wounds’
  4. Arabicc. 500–presentاَلْإِكْسِير2al-ʔiksīr‘philosopher's stone’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500elixir2‘philosopher's stone’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1906elixir2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ξηρός
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English elixir
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, JAMA: The Journal of the American Medica: “The subcommittee's report to the Council on Pharmacy and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kserosWiktionary, Ancient Greek ξηρός‘dry’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEξηρόςWiktionary, English elixirxērós‘dry’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEξηρίονWiktionary, English elixirxēríon‘powder for drying wounds’
  4. Arabicc. 500–presentاَلْإِكْسِيرWiktionary, English elixiral-ʔiksīr‘philosopher's stone’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500elixirWiktionary, English elixir‘philosopher's stone’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1906elixirWiktionary, English elixir. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1906, JAMA: The Journal of the American Medica: “The subcommittee's report to the Council on Pharmacy and…”

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Today it means

noun A liquid which converts lead to gold.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “elixir”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek ξηρός. 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 *kseros / elixir