Etymograph

English

image

Image comes from Old French image ‘sight’, from Latin imāgō ‘a copy, likeness, image’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eym-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eym-1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimāgō1‘a copy’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400image1‘sight’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ymage1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1577image1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English image
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1577, Raphaell Holinshed; Richarde Stanyhurst , Richard Stanihurst]: “The Citizens in their rage, imagining that euery poſt…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eym-Wiktionary, English imagereconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimāgōWiktionary, English image‘a copy’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400imageWiktionary, English image‘sight’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ymageWiktionary, English image
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1577imageWiktionary, English image. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1577, Raphaell Holinshed; Richarde Stanyhurst , Richard Stanihurst]: “The Citizens in their rage, imagining that euery poſt…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with image, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eym-

  • emulate ← aemulātus ← aemulor ← aemulus ← *aimos
  • imitation ← imitacioun ← imitacion ← imitacion ← imitatio
  • imitate ← imitātus ← imitor ← *imā
  • emulation ← aemulātiō ← aemulor ← aemulus ← *aimos
  • imagines ← imāgō
  • imitator ← imitateur ← imitor ← *imā

through Latin imāgō ‘a copy, likeness, image’

  • imagine ← ymagynen ← imaginer ← imāginor ← imāginem
  • imagination ← ymaginacioun ← imaginacion ← imāginātiō ← imāginor
  • imaginary ← ymaginarie ← imāginārius
  • imago

9 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A visual or other representation of the external form of something in art.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “image”. 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 *h₂eym- / image