Etymograph

English

enema

Enema comes from Ancient Greek ἔνεμα ‘injection’, from ἵημι ‘to release, let go’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- ‘to throw’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yeh₁-1‘to throw’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*yīyēmi1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἵημι2‘to release, let go’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐνίημι3eníēmi‘to send in, inject’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔνεμα3énema‘injection’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEenema3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1875enema3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἵημι
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐνίημι
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English enema
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1875, Atlanta Medical and Surgical Journal: “To the distensile enema of simple tepid water, no…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yeh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἵημι‘to throw’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*yīyēmiWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἵημιreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἵημιWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐνίημι‘to release, let go’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐνίημιWiktionary, English enemaeníēmi‘to send in, inject’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔνεμαWiktionary, English enemaénema‘injection’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEenemaWiktionary, English enema
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1875enemaWiktionary, English enema. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1875, Atlanta Medical and Surgical Journal: “To the distensile enema of simple tepid water, no…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- ‘to throw’

year, project, hour, disease, object, ease, jet, injection, adjacent, jess, trajectory, inject, conjecture, gist, ejection, jetty, abject, eject, ejaculation, ejaculate, jettison, jut, subjection, interject, joist, jetsam, 42 more

through Ancient Greek ἵημι ‘to release, let go’

catheter, iambic, 9 more

Today it means

noun An injection of fluid into the large intestine by way of the rectum, usually for medical purposes.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “enema”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ἵημι, Ancient Greek ἐνίημι. 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 *(H)yeh₁- / enema

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