Etymograph

English

hedonic

Hedonic comes from Ancient Greek ἡδονικός ‘pleasant’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂d- ‘sweet’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sweh₂d-1‘sweet’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἡδονικός1hēdonikós‘pleasant’
  3. Englishtodayhedonic1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English hedonic

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sweh₂d-Wiktionary, English hedonic‘sweet’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἡδονικόςWiktionary, English hedonichēdonikós‘pleasant’
  3. EnglishtodayhedonicWiktionary, English hedonic

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂d- ‘sweet’

sweet, persuade, persuasive, persuasion, suave, assuage, 8 more

Today it means

adj Of or relating to pleasure

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hedonic”. 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 *sweh₂d- / hedonic

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