Etymograph

English

pyrexia

Pyrexia comes from Ancient Greek πυρεξία ‘feverishness’, from πῦρ ‘fire’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péh₂wr̥1‘fire’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pāwər1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπῦρ2pûr‘fire’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπυρετός3puretós‘fever’root of πῦρ
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπυρεξία3purexía‘feverishness’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpyrexia3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1997pyrexia3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πῦρ
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πυρετός
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English pyrexia
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1997, Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: “The least defined pyrexiae were the continued fevers, divided…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péh₂wr̥Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πῦρ‘fire’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pāwərWiktionary, Ancient Greek πῦρreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπῦρWiktionary, Ancient Greek πυρετόςpûr‘fire’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπυρετόςWiktionary, English pyrexiapuretós‘fever’root of πῦρ
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπυρεξίαWiktionary, English pyrexiapurexía‘feverishness’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpyrexiaWiktionary, English pyrexia
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1997pyrexiaWiktionary, English pyrexia. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1997, Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: “The least defined pyrexiae were the continued fevers, divided…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ ‘fire’

fire, fiery, poppy, 15 more

through Proto-Hellenic *pāwər

pyroclastic, 12 more

through Ancient Greek πῦρ ‘fire’

bureau, burrito, bertram, burro, pyrite, pyro, 13 more

Today it means

noun Fever.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pyrexia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πῦρ, Ancient Greek πυρετός. 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 *péh₂wr̥ / pyrexia

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