Etymograph

English

epoch

Epoch comes from Medieval Latin epocha ‘age, period, time, season, epoch’, from Ancient Greek ἐπέχω ‘to hold in, check’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- ‘to overpower’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seǵʰ-1‘to overpower’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*séǵʰeti1‘to overpower, take hold of’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hékʰō1‘to have’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔχω2ékhō‘to have, hold’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπέχω2epékhō‘to hold in, check’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐποχή2epokhḗ‘a check, cessation, stop, pause, epoch of a star, i.e.’
  7. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500epocha2‘age, period, time, season, epoch’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1834epoch2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔχω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English epoch
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “I grew bitter in my words—I believed the worst…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seǵʰ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔχω‘to overpower’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*séǵʰetiWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔχω‘to overpower, take hold of’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*hékʰōWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἔχω‘to have’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔχωWiktionary, English epochékhō‘to have, hold’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπέχωWiktionary, English epochepékhō‘to hold in, check’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐποχήWiktionary, English epochepokhḗ‘a check, cessation, stop, pause, epoch of a star, i.e.’
  7. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500epochaWiktionary, English epoch‘age, period, time, season, epoch’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1834epochWiktionary, English epoch. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “I grew bitter in my words—I believed the worst…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- ‘to overpower’

school, severe, scholar, severity, hector, perseverance, scholastic, schema, shul, 23 more

through Ancient Greek ἔχω ‘to have, hold’

sketch, hectic, 6 more

Today it means

noun A particular period of history, or of a person's life, especially one considered noteworthy or remarkable.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “epoch”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek ἔχω. 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 *seǵʰ- / epoch

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