English
eon
Eon comes from Latin aeon ‘age, eternity’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eyu-1‘vital force, life, long life, eternity’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαἰών2aiṓn‘age, era’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaeon2‘age, eternity’
- Englishearliest quotation 1990eon2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek αἰών
- 2 Wiktionary, English eon
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1990, Judith Martin, New York: “Traditionally, a luncheon is a lunch that takes an…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eyu-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek αἰών‘vital force, life, long life, eternity’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαἰώνWiktionary, English eonaiṓn‘age, era’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaeonWiktionary, English eon‘age, eternity’
- Englishearliest quotation 1990eonWiktionary, English eon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1990, Judith Martin, New York: “Traditionally, a luncheon is a lunch that takes an…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- ‘vital force, life, long life, eternity’
eternal, aye, eternity, ay, eval, 9 more
through Latin aeon ‘age, eternity’
Today it means
noun Eternity, the duration of the universe.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “eon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek αἰών. 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.