English
neanic
Neanic comes from Ancient Greek νεανικός, from νεᾱνῐ́ᾱς ‘young person’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nu1‘now’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwos2‘new’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*néwos3‘new’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνέος4néos‘young’next step skipped: Ancient Greek νεάν
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνεᾱνῐ́ᾱς5‘young person’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνεανικός5neanikós
- Englishearliest quotation 2017neanic5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *néwos
- 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *néwos
- 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek νέος
- 4 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek νεανίας
- 5 Wiktionary, English neanic
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2017, Ralf Schiebel, Planktic Foraminifers in the Modern Ocean: “The neanic stage is a transitional ontogenetic stage leading…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nuWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *néwos‘now’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwosWiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *néwos‘new’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*néwosWiktionary, Ancient Greek νέος‘new’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνέοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek νεανίαςnéos‘young’next step skipped: Ancient Greek νεάν
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνεᾱνῐ́ᾱςWiktionary, English neanic‘young person’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνεανικόςWiktionary, English neanicneanikós
- Englishearliest quotation 2017neanicWiktionary, English neanic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2017, Ralf Schiebel, Planktic Foraminifers in the Modern Ocean: “The neanic stage is a transitional ontogenetic stage leading…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’
renovation, innovate, renovate, innovator, noo, telenovela, novation, 10 more
through Proto-Indo-European *néwos ‘new’
new, novel, innovation, newly, nova, newer, novice, nuevo, newness, novitiate, 15 more
through Ancient Greek νέος ‘young’
Today it means
adj Relating to youth or the early stages.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “neanic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *néwos, Proto-Hellenic *néwos, Ancient Greek νέος, Ancient Greek νεανίας. 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 *nu / neanic