Etymograph

English

kore

Kore comes from Ancient Greek κόρη ‘girl, maiden’, from Proto-Hellenic *kórwos ‘boy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- ‘to grow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-1‘to grow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kórwos1‘boy’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kórwā2‘girl’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκόρη3kórē‘girl, maiden’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1966kore3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *kórwā
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κόρη
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English kore
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1966, Spyros Meletzēs, Helenē A. Papadakē: “Mus. No 685: Archaic kore of island marble (500-490…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-Wiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *kórwā‘to grow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kórwosWiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *kórwā‘boy’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kórwāWiktionary, Ancient Greek κόρη‘girl’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκόρηWiktionary, English korekórē‘girl, maiden’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1966koreWiktionary, English kore. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1966, Spyros Meletzēs, Helenē A. Papadakē: “Mus. No 685: Archaic kore of island marble (500-490…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- ‘to grow’

increase, create, increasing, creative, crew, decrease, creature, creator, cereal, crescent, croissant, creole, increment, cru, excrement, accretion, procreation, creat, 26 more

Today it means

noun An Ancient Greek statue of a woman, portrayed standing, usually clothed, painted in bright colours and having an elaborate hairstyle.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “kore”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Hellenic *kórwā, Ancient Greek κόρη. 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 *ḱer- / kore

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