English
odynophobia
Odynophobia comes from Ancient Greek ὀδύνη ‘pain of body’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- ‘to eat’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ed-1‘to eat’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hed-ún-eh₂1‘pain’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀδύνη2odúnē‘pain of body’
- Englishtodayodynophobia2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὀδύνη, which cites Beekes
- 2 Wiktionary, English odynophobia
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ed-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὀδύνη, which cites Beekes‘to eat’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hed-ún-eh₂Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ὀδύνη, which cites Beekes‘pain’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀδύνηWiktionary, English odynophobiaodúnē‘pain of body’
- EnglishtodayodynophobiaWiktionary, English odynophobia
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- ‘to eat’
eat, et, anna, ana, obesity, edible, ent, fret, etch, phage, esca, 20 more
through Ancient Greek ὀδύνη ‘pain of body’
Today it means
noun A pathological fear of pain.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “odynophobia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek ὀδύνη. 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 *h₁ed- / odynophobia