Etymograph

English

phase

Phase comes from New Latin phasis, from Greek φάσις ‘appearance’, from φαίνω ‘to bring to light, appear’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-1‘to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₂nyéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰáňňō1‘to appear’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφαίνω1‘to bring to light; to appear’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφάσις1phásis‘appearance’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900phasis1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1934phase1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English phase
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1934, Ernest Bramah: “It would have been a simple enough move to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-Wiktionary, English phase‘to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₂nyétiWiktionary, English phasereconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰáňňōWiktionary, English phase‘to appear’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφαίνωWiktionary, English phase‘to bring to light; to appear’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφάσιςWiktionary, English phasephásis‘appearance’
  6. New Latinc. 1500–1900phasisWiktionary, English phase
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1934phaseWiktionary, English phase. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1934, Ernest Bramah: “It would have been a simple enough move to…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine, glow light’

focus, phone, professor, famous, fuel, ben, favor, favourite, ban, fate, fame, profession, photographer, fatal, bee, fairy, fabulous, abandon, infant, confession, confess, beacon, beck, symphony, boon, eff, fab, fay, bane, fable, foyer, banish, buoy, nefarious, prophetic, profess, bene, banal, infamy, prophesy, 116 more

through Proto-Hellenic *pʰáňňō ‘to appear’

fancy, fantasy, phenomenon, emphasis, phantom, epiphany, fantasia, phenomenology, phenomenally, phenol, phenom, tryptophan, phantasm, 42 more

Today it means

noun A distinguishable part of a sequence or cycle occurring over time.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “phase”. 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 *bʰeh₂- / phase

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