English
eudaimon
Eudaimon comes from Ancient Greek εὐδαίμων ‘one who has achieved Eudaimonia’, from δαίμων ‘god, destiny’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- ‘to share, to divide’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-1‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαι1daíomai‘to divide’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίμων2‘god, destiny’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεὐδαίμων3eudaímōn‘one who has achieved Eudaimonia’
- Englishearliest quotation 1871eudaimon3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμων
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εὐδαίμων
- 3 Wiktionary, English eudaimon
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1871, John Macpherson, London; New York: “In these days we ascribe the virtues of those…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμων‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαιWiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμωνdaíomai‘to divide’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίμωνWiktionary, Ancient Greek εὐδαίμων‘god, destiny’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεὐδαίμωνWiktionary, English eudaimoneudaímōn‘one who has achieved Eudaimonia’
- Englishearliest quotation 1871eudaimonWiktionary, English eudaimon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1871, John Macpherson, London; New York: “In these days we ascribe the virtues of those…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- ‘to share, to divide’
time, till, tide, til, tease, tass, 22 more
through Ancient Greek δαίομαι ‘to divide’
through Ancient Greek δαίμων ‘god, destiny’
Today it means
noun —
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “eudaimon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek δαίμων, Ancient Greek εὐδαίμων. 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 *deh₂y- / eudaimon