Etymograph

English

homo

Homo comes from Latin homō̆ ‘human, person, man’, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéǵʰōm ‘earth’, and ultimately from *dʰeǵʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeǵʰ-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéǵʰōm1‘earth’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰmṓ1‘human’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hemō1‘man’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhemō1
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhomō̆2‘human, person, man’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1938homo2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin homo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English homo
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1938, Cecil Day Lewis, Starting point: “"... He's a homo." "My dear Theo, at my…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeǵʰ-Wiktionary, Latin homoreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéǵʰōmWiktionary, Latin homo‘earth’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰmṓWiktionary, Latin homo‘human’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hemōWiktionary, Latin homo‘man’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhemōWiktionary, Latin homo
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhomō̆Wiktionary, English homo‘human, person, man’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1938homoWiktionary, English homo. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1938, Cecil Day Lewis, Starting point: “"... He's a homo." "My dear Theo, at my…”

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeǵʰ-

Another origin of homo

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeǵʰ-uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰéǵʰōm‘earth’uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰmṓ‘human’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hemō‘man’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhemō
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhomō̆‘a human being, man, person’
  7. Englishtodayhomo

Today it means

noun Of or pertaining to homosexuality.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “homo”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin homo. 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 *dʰeǵʰ- / homo

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