Etymograph

English

miosis

Miosis comes from Ancient Greek μύω ‘to close the eyes’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *mewH-ye-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mewH-ye-1reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμύω2múō‘to close the eyes’
  3. Englishtodaymiosis2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μύω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English miosis

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mewH-ye-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek μύωreconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμύωWiktionary, English miosismúō‘to close the eyes’
  3. EnglishtodaymiosisWiktionary, English miosis

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mewH-ye-

mysterious, mystic, mystique, 18 more

Today it means

noun —

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “miosis”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek μύω. 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 *mewH-ye- / miosis

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