Etymograph

English

utopia

Utopia comes from New Latin Ūtopia, from Ancient Greek τόπος ‘place, location’, and ultimately from οὐ ‘not’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEοὐ1ou‘not’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτόπος1tópos‘place, location’
  3. New Latinc. 1500–1900Ūtopia2
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1945utopia2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin Utopia
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English utopia
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1945, Chimera: A Literary Quarterly: “Errors in time must be kept in mind when…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEοὐWiktionary, Latin Utopiaou‘not’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτόποςWiktionary, Latin Utopiatópos‘place, location’
  3. New Latinc. 1500–1900ŪtopiaWiktionary, English utopia
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1945utopiaWiktionary, English utopia. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1945, Chimera: A Literary Quarterly: “Errors in time must be kept in mind when…”

The story

Coined from Ancient Greek οὐ (ou, “not”) + τόπος (tópos, “place, region”) + -ία (-ía).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Ancient Greek τόπος ‘place, location’

topic, dystopia, topos, topiary, 6 more

Today it means

noun A world in which everything and everyone works in perfect harmony.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “utopia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin Utopia. 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 οὐ / utopia

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