Etymograph

English

porphyry

Porphyry comes from Ancient Greek πορφυρίτης λίθος ‘purple stone’, and goes back to πορφύρα.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπορφύρα1porphúra‘purple-fish, purple dye’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπορφυρίτης λίθος1porphurítēs líthos‘purple stone’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400porfire1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1980porphyry1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English porphyry
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1980, Colin Thubron, Seafarers: The Venetians: “A quartet of porphyry warriors, locked for all time…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπορφύραWiktionary, English porphyryporphúra‘purple-fish, purple dye’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπορφυρίτης λίθοςWiktionary, English porphyryporphurítēs líthos‘purple stone’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400porfireWiktionary, English porphyry
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1980porphyryWiktionary, English porphyry. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1980, Colin Thubron, Seafarers: The Venetians: “A quartet of porphyry warriors, locked for all time…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- ‘to boil’

brand, burn, bread, brew, bourbon, broth, bourne, brunt, brim, fervent, ferment, fervor, bren, effervescent, broil, briny, 40 more

through Ancient Greek πορφύρα ‘purple-fish, purple dye’

purple, purpura, 13 more

Today it means

noun A hard igneous rock consisting of large crystals in a fine-grained matrix.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “porphyry”. 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 / Ancient Greek πορφύρα / porphyry

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