English
erythronium
Erythronium comes from Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός ‘red’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rewdʰ-1‘red’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rudʰrós2‘red’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*erutʰrós2‘red’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐρυθρός3eruthrós‘red’
- Englishtodayerythronium3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁rudʰrós
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός
- 3 Wiktionary, English erythronium
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rewdʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁rudʰrós‘red’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁rudʰrósWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός‘red’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*erutʰrósWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός‘red’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐρυθρόςWiktionary, English erythroniumeruthrós‘red’
- EnglishtodayerythroniumWiktionary, English erythronium
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- ‘red’
red, ruby, rust, reddish, rowan, russel, ruddy, redness, rouse, roux, corroborate, rubric, roan, rubella, russet, rufous, rud, ruddock, robusta, 33 more
through Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός ‘red’
Today it means
noun A plant of the genus Erythronium; a dogtooth violet.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “erythronium”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁rudʰrós, Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός. 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 *h₁rewdʰ- / erythronium