English
trypophobia
Trypophobia comes from Ancient Greek τρῦπα ‘hole’, and goes back to τρυπάω ‘to bore, pierce through’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτρυπάω1‘to bore, pierce through’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτρῦπα2trûpa‘hole’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013trypophobia2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τρῦπα, which cites Beekes
- 2 Wiktionary, English trypophobia
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Geoff G. Cole, Fear of Holes: “Images of lotus seed heads are often reported as…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτρυπάωWiktionary, Ancient Greek τρῦπα, which cites Beekes‘to bore, pierce through’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτρῦπαWiktionary, English trypophobiatrûpa‘hole’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013trypophobiaWiktionary, English trypophobia. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Geoff G. Cole, Fear of Holes: “Images of lotus seed heads are often reported as…”
Formed from phobia
Proto-Indo-European *bʰegʷ- ‘to run, flee’
Proto-Indo-European *bʰógʷos
Proto-Hellenic *pʰógʷos
Ancient Greek φόβος ‘fear’
English phobia
The story
From Ancient Greek τρῦπα (trûpa, “hole”), compare Ancient Greek τρυπάω (trupáō, “bore”), + -phobia (from Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos, “fear, phobia”)), said to have been coined by a blogger from Ireland in 2005.
Every English word from Ancient Greek τρυπάω
Today it means
noun An irrational or obsessive fear of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes, such as those found in honeycombs.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “trypophobia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek τρῦπα. 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 τρυπάω / trypophobia