Etymograph

English

eolic

Eolic comes from Ancient Greek Αἴολος ‘Aeolus, god of the winds’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *welH- ‘to turn’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welH-1‘to turn’uncertainearlier origin unknown
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welwel-1uncertain
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*walwólos1uncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΑἴολος2Aíolos‘Aeolus, god of the winds’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEAeolicus2
  6. Englishtodayeolic2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek Αἴολος
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English eolic

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welH-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek Αἴολος‘to turn’uncertainearlier origin unknown
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welwel-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek Αἴολοςuncertain
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*walwólosWiktionary, Ancient Greek Αἴολοςuncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΑἴολοςWiktionary, English eolicAíolos‘Aeolus, god of the winds’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEAeolicusWiktionary, English eolic
  6. EnglishtodayeolicWiktionary, English eolic

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *welH- ‘to turn’

well, walk, wall, volume, revolution, evolution, valve, involve, vault, evolve, vulgar, revolt, waltz, helix, divulge, convoluted, vagrant, vulva, wale, voluminous, gauche, vulgate, convolution, iliac, valvular, ilium, involution, voluble, valise, 74 more

Today it means

adj Of the wind; referring to the action or the power of wind.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “eolic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek Αἴολος. 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 *welH- / eolic

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