English
synthesis
Synthesis comes from Latin synthesis ‘a collection or reunion of many objects of…’, from Ancient Greek σύνθεσις ‘a putting together’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to put, place’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-1‘to put, place’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰé-dʰeh₁-ti1reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*t(e/i)tʰēmi1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτίθημι2títhēmi‘set, place’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσυντίθημι2suntíthēmi‘put together, combine’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσύνθεσις2súnthesis‘a putting together’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsynthesis2‘a collection or reunion of many objects of analogous nature’
- Englishearliest quotation 1918synthesis2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τίθημι
- 2 Wiktionary, English synthesis
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, American Philological Association: “The Saturnalia was apparently the only occasion, however, when…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τίθημι‘to put, place’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰé-dʰeh₁-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek τίθημιreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*t(e/i)tʰēmiWiktionary, Ancient Greek τίθημιreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτίθημιWiktionary, English synthesistíthēmi‘set, place’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσυντίθημιWiktionary, English synthesissuntíthēmi‘put together, combine’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσύνθεσιςWiktionary, English synthesissúnthesis‘a putting together’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsynthesisWiktionary, English synthesis‘a collection or reunion of many objects of analogous nature’
- Englishearliest quotation 1918synthesisWiktionary, English synthesis. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, American Philological Association: “The Saturnalia was apparently the only occasion, however, when…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to put, place’
do, fact, deal, hot, fair, defense, fan, benefit, fashion, feature, mid, defence, custom, theme, sufficient, ethnic, feast, ethical, defendant, doom, deed, theology, aesthetic, auditorium, dis, auditor, demi, deem, ethic, spade, forfeit, feral, fanatic, familial, medial, ethos, atheist, medallion, prefect, certify, 123 more
through Proto-Hellenic *t(e/i)tʰēmi
through Ancient Greek τίθημι ‘set, place’
Today it means
noun The formation of something complex or coherent by combining simpler things.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “synthesis”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek τίθημι. 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 *dʰeh₁- / synthesis