English
thymos
Thymos comes from Ancient Greek θῡμός ‘soul, heart’, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós ‘smoke’, and ultimately from *dʰewh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewh₂-1‘to smoke’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰuh₂mós2‘smoke’reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tʰūmós2‘soul, spirit’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθῡμός3thūmós‘soul, heart’
- Englishtodaythymos3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek θυμός
- 3 Wiktionary, English thymos
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰewh₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós‘to smoke’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰuh₂mósWiktionary, Ancient Greek θυμός‘smoke’reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tʰūmósWiktionary, Ancient Greek θυμός‘soul, spirit’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθῡμόςWiktionary, English thymosthūmós‘soul, heart’
- EnglishtodaythymosWiktionary, English thymos
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- ‘to smoke’
down, steam, dye, dew, dun, dune, duvet, dag, obfuscate, typhon, thymus, 26 more
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós ‘smoke’
Today it means
noun That area of the soul where feelings of pride, indignation, shame etc are located.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “thymos”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós, Ancient Greek θυμός. 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 *dʰewh₂- / thymos