Etymograph

English

phlox

Phlox comes from Ancient Greek φλόξ ‘flame’, from φλέγω ‘burn’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-1‘to blaze, burn’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰlegō1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφλέγω2phlégō‘burn’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφλόξ3phlóx‘flame’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900Phlox3
  6. Englishtodayphlox3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φλέγω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φλόξ
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English phlox

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φλέγω‘to blaze, burn’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰlegōWiktionary, Ancient Greek φλέγωreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφλέγωWiktionary, Ancient Greek φλόξphlégō‘burn’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφλόξWiktionary, English phloxphlóx‘flame’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900PhloxWiktionary, English phlox
  6. EnglishtodayphloxWiktionary, English phlox

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to blaze, burn’

ball, bowl, bell, bull, bold, flame, bald, boil, blaze, bale, blush, blur, blizzard, bleach, bolster, budge, sabha, blemish, bola, bolero, blithe, blain, phallus, bleat, 71 more

through Proto-Hellenic *pʰlegō

phlegmatic, 6 more

through Ancient Greek φλέγω ‘burn’

phlegm, 7 more

Today it means

noun Any flowering plant of the genus Phlox.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “phlox”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek φλέγω, Ancient Greek φλόξ. 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 *bʰel- / phlox

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