Etymograph

English

pedagogy

Pedagogy comes from Middle French pédagogie, from Ancient Greek παιδαγωγία ‘teaching’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- ‘few, little’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂w-1‘few, little’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pā́wits1‘child’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαῖς1paîs‘child’next step skipped: Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́γω
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓γωγός1ăgōgós‘leading’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαιδαγωγός2‘teacher, leader’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαιδαγωγία3paidagōgía‘teaching’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600pédagogie3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2018pedagogy3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek παιδαγωγός
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek παιδαγωγία
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English pedagogy
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, Clarence Green, James Lambert: “A resource that profiles the important language of secondary…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂w-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek παιδαγωγός‘few, little’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pā́witsWiktionary, Ancient Greek παιδαγωγός‘child’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαῖςWiktionary, Ancient Greek παιδαγωγόςpaîs‘child’next step skipped: Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́γω
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓γωγόςWiktionary, Ancient Greek παιδαγωγόςăgōgós‘leading’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαιδαγωγόςWiktionary, Ancient Greek παιδαγωγία‘teacher, leader’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαιδαγωγίαWiktionary, English pedagogypaidagōgía‘teaching’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600pédagogieWiktionary, English pedagogy
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2018pedagogyWiktionary, English pedagogy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, Clarence Green, James Lambert: “A resource that profiles the important language of secondary…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- ‘few, little’

few, poor, fewer, pose, pause, puppy, pupil, puppet, pave, filly, menopausal, paucity, pupa, puerile, posada, 29 more

through Ancient Greek παῖς ‘child’

page, pediatrics, orthopedics, 9 more

Today it means

noun The profession of teaching.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pedagogy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek παιδαγωγός, Ancient Greek παιδαγωγία. 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 *peh₂w- / pedagogy

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