English
polythetic
Polythetic comes from Ancient Greek θέσις ‘arrangement’, from τίθημι ‘to put, place’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-1‘to put, place’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰé-dʰeh₁-ti1reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*t(e/i)tʰēmi1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτίθημι2‘to put, place’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθέσις3thésis‘arrangement’
- Englishtodaypolythetic3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τίθημι
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek θέσις
- 3 Wiktionary, English polythetic
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τίθημι‘to put, place’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰé-dʰeh₁-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek τίθημιreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*t(e/i)tʰēmiWiktionary, Ancient Greek τίθημιreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτίθημιWiktionary, Ancient Greek θέσις‘to put, place’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθέσιςWiktionary, English polytheticthésis‘arrangement’
- EnglishtodaypolytheticWiktionary, English polythetic
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to put, place’
do, fact, deal, hot, fair, defense, fan, benefit, fashion, feature, mid, defence, custom, theme, sufficient, defendant, feast, ethnic, doom, deed, dis, ethical, auditorium, auditor, theology, demi, deem, spade, forfeit, aesthetic, atheist, feral, synthetic, familial, medial, atheism, medallion, prefect, profanity, ethic, 121 more
through Proto-Hellenic *t(e/i)tʰēmi
through Ancient Greek τίθημι ‘to put, place’
treasury, treasure, synthesis, tick, thesaurus, epithet, 14 more
Today it means
adj Having many, but not all properties in common.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “polythetic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek τίθημι, Ancient Greek θέσις. 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 *dʰeh₁- / polythetic