Etymograph

English

paradox

Paradox comes from Ancient Greek παράδοξος ‘unexpected, strange’, and goes back to δόξα ‘expectation’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδόξα1‘expectation’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαράδοξος1parádoxos‘unexpected, strange’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparadoxum1
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600paradoxe1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1594paradox1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English paradox
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1594, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet: “Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδόξαWiktionary, English paradox‘expectation’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαράδοξοςWiktionary, English paradoxparádoxos‘unexpected, strange’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparadoxumWiktionary, English paradox
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600paradoxeWiktionary, English paradox
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1594paradoxWiktionary, English paradox. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1594, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet: “Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to accept’

doctor, decent, tail, document, dignity, doctrine, decoration, decor, disdain, indignation, dainty, dogma, fonda, indignant, doctrinal, docile, dodo, deign, digne, dignitary, docent, dox, 54 more

Today it means

noun An apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “paradox”. 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 / Ancient Greek δόξα / paradox

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