Etymograph

English

scotomy

Scotomy comes from Ancient Greek σκοτωμία ‘dizziness’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσκοτωμία1skotōmía‘dizziness’
  2. Englishearliest quotation c. 1605–06scotomy1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English scotomy
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1605–06, Ben Jonson, Volpone; or The Fox: “O, sir, 'tis past the scotomy;”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσκοτωμίαWiktionary, English scotomyskotōmía‘dizziness’
  2. Englishearliest quotation c. 1605–06scotomyWiktionary, English scotomy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1605–06, Ben Jonson, Volpone; or The Fox: “O, sir, 'tis past the scotomy;”

Equivalent to scot- + -omy

Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- ‘shadow, darkness’

Proto-Indo-European *skh₃tos

Ancient Greek σκότος ‘darkness’

English scot-

Every English word from Ancient Greek σκοτωμία

Today it means

noun dizziness with dimness of sight

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “scotomy”. 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 σκοτωμία / scotomy

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