English
prelogism
Prelogism comes from Ancient Greek λόγος ‘word’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect (words)’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-1‘to collect (words)’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lógos1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλόγος2lógos‘word’
- Englishtodayprelogism2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek λόγος
- 2 Wiktionary, English prelogism
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek λόγος‘to collect (words)’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lógosWiktionary, Ancient Greek λόγοςreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλόγοςWiktionary, English prelogismlógos‘word’
- EnglishtodayprelogismWiktionary, English prelogism
Formed from pre
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect (words)’
collection, election, technology, lesson, collect, select, elite, eligible, elect, elegant, coil, legion, negligence, catalogue, negligent, leach, negligible, diligent, lexicon, astrology, lexical, cull, epilogue, dialectic, legation, cosmology, alexia, lignite, lignin, gynecologist, lexis, ineligibility, dialogic, 148 more
through Proto-Hellenic *lógos
archaeological, pathological, etymology, homologous, pathophysiology, astrological, psychopathology, neurophysiology, histopathology, bacteriological, 100 more
through Ancient Greek λόγος ‘word’
logic, apology, trilogy, sociology, terminology, analogy, physiology, pathology, logos, monologue, prologue, eulogy, archaeologist, pathologist, entomology, epistemology, logistic, etiology, bacteriology, apologia, bacteriologist, syllogism, 109 more
Today it means
noun A word that has more recognition than a protologism but less recognition than a neologism.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “prelogism”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek λόγος. 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 *leǵ- / prelogism