English
epigone
Epigone comes from Ancient Greek ἐπίγονος ‘offspring, descendant’, from ἐπιγίγνομαι ‘to come after’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to beget’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-1‘to beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵíǵn̥h₁eti1‘to engender’reconstructedreduplicated present stem of *ǵenh₁-
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gígnomai1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγίγνομαι2gígnomai‘to become’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπί2epí‘upon’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπιγίγνομαι2epigígnomai‘to come after’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπίγονος2epígonos‘offspring, descendant’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEepigonus2
- Frenchc. 1600–presentépigone2
- Englishearliest quotation 1991epigone2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek γίγνομαι
- 2 Wiktionary, English epigone
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, Stephen Jay Gould, Bully for Brontosaurus: “While Shaler remained subordinate, he followed Agassiz’s intellectual lead,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek γίγνομαι‘to beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵíǵn̥h₁etiWiktionary, Ancient Greek γίγνομαι‘to engender’reconstructedreduplicated present stem of *ǵenh₁-
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gígnomaiWiktionary, Ancient Greek γίγνομαιreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγίγνομαιWiktionary, English epigonegígnomai‘to become’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπίWiktionary, English epigoneepí‘upon’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπιγίγνομαιWiktionary, English epigoneepigígnomai‘to come after’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπίγονοςWiktionary, English epigoneepígonos‘offspring, descendant’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEepigonusWiktionary, English epigone
- Frenchc. 1600–presentépigoneWiktionary, English epigone
- Englishearliest quotation 1991epigoneWiktionary, English epigone. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, Stephen Jay Gould, Bully for Brontosaurus: “While Shaler remained subordinate, he followed Agassiz’s intellectual lead,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to beget’
kind, general, king, nature, german, native, nation, gender, pregnant, generation, engineer, oxygen, ken, genre, genuine, gentle, gene, indigenous, hydrogen, genocide, naive, genus, kin, noel, innate, natal, germ, nativity, nada, genitalia, nascent, gentile, janata, nee, gens, puny, glycogen, genial, genteel, cognate, 106 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵíǵn̥h₁eti ‘to engender’
engine, genius, genital, ingenious, 10 more
through Ancient Greek γίγνομαι ‘to become’
through Ancient Greek ἐπί ‘upon’
Today it means
noun A follower or disciple.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “epigone”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek γίγνομαι. 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 *ǵenh₁- / epigone