Etymograph

English

policy

Policy comes from Middle English policie, from Old French policie, from Latin polītīa, from Ancient Greek πολιτεία ‘citizenship’, from πόλις ‘city’, ultimately from PIE *tpólHis.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tpólHis1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ptólis1‘city’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπόλις2‘city’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπολίτης3polítēs‘citizen’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπολιτεία3politeía‘citizenship’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpolītīa3
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400policie3
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500policie3
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1580policy3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πόλις
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πολίτης
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English policy
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1580, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “I pray you (said he) honest men, what such…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tpólHisWiktionary, Ancient Greek πόλιςreconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ptólisWiktionary, Ancient Greek πόλις‘city’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπόλιςWiktionary, Ancient Greek πολίτης‘city’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπολίτηςWiktionary, English policypolítēs‘citizen’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπολιτείαWiktionary, English policypoliteía‘citizenship’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpolītīaWiktionary, English policy
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400policieWiktionary, English policy
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500policieWiktionary, English policy
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1580policyWiktionary, English policy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1580, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “I pray you (said he) honest men, what such…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with policy, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Ancient Greek πόλις ‘city’

  • politico ← polīticus ← πολιτικός ← πολῑ́της
  • polis
  • politique ← politicus ← πολιτικός ← πολῑ́της

through Ancient Greek πολίτης ‘citizen’

  • politic ← politique ← polīticus ← πολιτικός

through Latin polītīa

11 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of policy

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀποδείκνῡμι‘to show, display’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀπόδειξιςapódeixis‘proof, declaration’
  3. Byzantine Greekc. 600–1453*ἀπόδειξαreconstructed
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500apodissa‘receipt for money’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentpolizza‘policy (insurance)’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600police‘governance’
  7. Englishtodaypolicy

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Today it means

noun A principle of behaviour, conduct which an entity (government, organization, etc.) applies or seeks to follow, especially as formally expressed by an authoritative body.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “policy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πόλις, Ancient Greek πολίτης. 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 *tpólHis / policy