English
paralytic
Paralytic comes from Latin paralyticus ‘paralyzed, paralytic’, from Ancient Greek λύω ‘loosen’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- ‘to cut off, separate, free’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewh₁-1‘to cut off, separate, free’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλύω2‘loosen’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαραλύω3‘to paralyse’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαραλυτικός4paralutikós‘paralyzed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparalyticus4‘paralyzed, paralytic’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentparalytique4
- Englishearliest quotation 1718paralytic4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek λύω, which cites Beekes
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek παραλύω
- 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek παραλυτικός
- 4 Wiktionary, English paralytic
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1718, Matthew Prior, Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.: “the cold, shaking, paralytic hand”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek λύω, which cites Beekes‘to cut off, separate, free’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλύωWiktionary, Ancient Greek παραλύω‘loosen’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαραλύωWiktionary, Ancient Greek παραλυτικός‘to paralyse’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαραλυτικόςWiktionary, English paralyticparalutikós‘paralyzed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparalyticusWiktionary, English paralytic‘paralyzed, paralytic’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentparalytiqueWiktionary, English paralytic
- Englishearliest quotation 1718paralyticWiktionary, English paralytic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1718, Matthew Prior, Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.: “the cold, shaking, paralytic hand”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- ‘to cut off, separate, free’
so, lose, solution, solve, lease, sol, resolute, insoluble, loess, 31 more
through Ancient Greek λύω ‘loosen’
analysis, analyst, dialysis, lysis, 17 more
through Ancient Greek παραλύω ‘to paralyse’
Today it means
noun Someone suffering from paralysis.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “paralytic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek λύω, Ancient Greek παραλύω, Ancient Greek παραλυτικός. 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 *lewh₁- / paralytic