Etymograph

English

exegete

Exegete comes from Ancient Greek ἐξηγητής ‘expounder, interpreter’, from ἐξηγέομαι ‘to lead (the way)’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- ‘to seek out’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂g-1‘to seek out’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἡγέομαι2‘to go before, precede’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐξηγέομαι3‘to lead (the way)’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐξηγητής4exēgētḗs‘expounder, interpreter’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1905exegete4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἡγέομαι, which cites Beekes
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐξηγέομαι
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐξηγητής
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English exegete
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1905, Borden P. Bowne, Moral Training in the Public Schools: “History, not the dictionary, must exegete this doctrine. When…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂g-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἡγέομαι, which cites Beekes‘to seek out’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἡγέομαιWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐξηγέομαι‘to go before, precede’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐξηγέομαιWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἐξηγητής‘to lead (the way)’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐξηγητήςWiktionary, English exegeteexēgētḗs‘expounder, interpreter’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1905exegeteWiktionary, English exegete. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1905, Borden P. Bowne, Moral Training in the Public Schools: “History, not the dictionary, must exegete this doctrine. When…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- ‘to seek out’

seek, sake, sucker, soc, beseech, saya, sagittal, sagacity, presage, 18 more

through Ancient Greek ἡγέομαι ‘to go before, precede’

hegemony, hegemon, 4 more

Today it means

noun A person skilled in exegesis; an interpreter of texts, difficult passages, law, oracles, and similar obscure or esoteric sources.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “exegete”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ἡγέομαι, Ancient Greek ἐξηγέομαι, Ancient Greek ἐξηγητής. 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 *seh₂g- / exegete

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