English
synod
Synod comes from Ancient Greek σύνοδος ‘assembly, meeting’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσύνοδος1súnodos‘assembly, meeting’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1594synod1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English synod
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1594, William Shakespeare, The Comedie of Errors: “It hath in solemn synods been decreed.”.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσύνοδοςWiktionary, English synodsúnodos‘assembly, meeting’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1594synodWiktionary, English synod. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1594, William Shakespeare, The Comedie of Errors: “It hath in solemn synods been decreed.”
A compound of σύν ‘beside’ + σῠν- + ὁδός ‘road’
Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’
Proto-Hellenic *ksún ‘beside, with’
Ancient Greek σύν ‘beside’
Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
Proto-Indo-European *sodós
Proto-Hellenic *hodós
Ancient Greek ὁδός ‘road’
Every English word from Ancient Greek σύνοδος
Today it means
noun An ecclesiastic council or meeting to consult on church matters.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “synod”. 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 σύνοδος / synod