Etymograph

English

symptom

Symptom comes from Ancient Greek σύμπτωμα ‘a happening, accident, symptom of disease’, from συμπίπτω ‘Ι befall’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fall’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-1‘to fall’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pípth₂-1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*píptō1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπίπτω2píptō‘to fall’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσυμπίπτω2sumpíptō‘Ι befall’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσύμπτωμα2súmptōma‘a happening, accident, symptom of disease’stem of συμπίπτω
  7. Late Latinmodernsymptoma2
  8. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sinthoma2
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sinthoma2
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1837symptom2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πίπτω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English symptom
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Ethel Churchill: Or: “Nay, nay," exclaimed Lord Norbourne, "I cannot go quite…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πίπτω‘to fall’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pípth₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πίπτωreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*píptōWiktionary, Ancient Greek πίπτωreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπίπτωWiktionary, English symptompíptō‘to fall’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσυμπίπτωWiktionary, English symptomsumpíptō‘Ι befall’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσύμπτωμαWiktionary, English symptomsúmptōma‘a happening, accident, symptom of disease’stem of συμπίπτω
  7. Late LatinmodernsymptomaWiktionary, English symptom
  8. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sinthomaWiktionary, English symptom
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sinthomaWiktionary, English symptom
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1837symptomWiktionary, English symptom. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Ethel Churchill: Or: “Nay, nay," exclaimed Lord Norbourne, "I cannot go quite…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fall’

pass, mile, expansion, repeat, pen, expand, petition, patent, compete, helicopter, feather, perpetual, spawn, competitor, expanse, perpetuate, impetus, perpetuity, pennant, petulant, patina, pinion, patella, pata, impetuous, penna, petulance, 83 more

Today it means

noun A perceived change in some function, sensation or appearance of a person that indicates a disease or disorder, such as fever, headache or rash; strictly, a symptom is felt or experienced by the patient, while a sign can be detected by an observer.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “symptom”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek πίπτω. 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 *peth₂- / symptom

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