English
millennium
Millennium comes from Latin mīllennis ‘1000-year’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂et- ‘grass’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂et-1‘grass’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂etnós1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*atnos1‘year’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEannus1‘year’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEannīs1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīllennis1‘1000-year’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmīllennium1
- Englishearliest quotation 1888millennium1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English millennium
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1888, C. I. Scofield, The Seven Dispensations: “After the purifying judgments which attended the personal return…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂et-Wiktionary, English millennium‘grass’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂etnósWiktionary, English millenniumreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*atnosWiktionary, English millennium‘year’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEannusWiktionary, English millennium‘year’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEannīsWiktionary, English millennium
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīllennisWiktionary, English millennium‘1000-year’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmīllenniumWiktionary, English millennium
- Englishearliest quotation 1888millenniumWiktionary, English millennium. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1888, C. I. Scofield, The Seven Dispensations: “After the purifying judgments which attended the personal return…”
Linked words
through Latin annus ‘year’
annual, ann, annuity, perennial, annum, biennial, biennale, 12 more
Today it means
noun A period of time consisting of one thousand years.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “millennium”. 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 *h₂et- / millennium