Etymograph

English

psephisma

Psephisma comes from Latin psēphisma ‘plebiscite’, from Ancient Greek ψήφισμα ‘a proposal passed by a majority vote’, and ultimately from ψῆφος ‘a pebble’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEψῆφος1‘a pebble’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEψηφίζω2‘vote’
  3. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEψήφισμα3psḗphisma‘a proposal passed by a majority vote’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpsēphisma3‘plebiscite’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1790psephisma3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ψηφίζω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ψήφισμα
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English psephisma
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1790, Edmund Burke: “The ruin of the antient democracies was, that they…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEψῆφοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek ψηφίζω‘a pebble’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEψηφίζωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ψήφισμα‘vote’
  3. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEψήφισμαWiktionary, English psephismapsḗphisma‘a proposal passed by a majority vote’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpsēphismaWiktionary, English psephisma‘plebiscite’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1790psephismaWiktionary, English psephisma. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1790, Edmund Burke: “The ruin of the antient democracies was, that they…”

Every English word from Ancient Greek ψῆφος

Today it means

noun A psephism.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “psephisma”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ψηφίζω, Ancient Greek ψήφισμα. 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 ψῆφος / psephisma

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