Etymograph

English

symbolic

Symbolic comes from Latin symbolicus ‘having the nature or character of a symbol or…’, from Ancient Greek βάλλω ‘to throw, put’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-1‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnō1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλω2‘to throw, put’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσύμβολον3‘a sign or token by which one infers a thing’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσυμβολικός4sumbolikós‘of or belonging to a symbol’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsymbolicus4‘having the nature or character of a symbol or sign’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentsymbolique4uncertain
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2013symbolic4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σύμβολον
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek συμβολικός
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English symbolic
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Joris Luyendijk, Our banks are out of control: “Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnōWiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλωWiktionary, Ancient Greek σύμβολον‘to throw, put’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσύμβολονWiktionary, Ancient Greek συμβολικός‘a sign or token by which one infers a thing’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσυμβολικόςWiktionary, English symbolicsumbolikós‘of or belonging to a symbol’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsymbolicusWiktionary, English symbolic‘having the nature or character of a symbol or sign’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentsymboliqueWiktionary, English symbolicuncertain
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2013symbolicWiktionary, English symbolic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Joris Luyendijk, Our banks are out of control: “Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to hit by throwing’

ball, quail, quill, quell, obelisk, pul, 66 more

through Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō

ballistic, ballista, 37 more

through Ancient Greek βάλλω ‘to throw, put’

problem, devil, emblem, parable, metabolic, hyperbolic, parabolic, embolism, anabolic, metabolize, hyperbola, 34 more

Today it means

adj Pertaining to a symbol.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “symbolic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek βάλλω, Ancient Greek σύμβολον, Ancient Greek συμβολικός. 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 *gʷelH- / symbolic

Shirt and support for this word