Etymograph

English

vampire

Vampire comes from German Vampir.

  1. Germanc. 1650–presentVampir1by way of Serbo-Croatian vàmpīr//ва̀мпӣр
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentvampire1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1732vampire1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English vampire
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1732, The London Journal: “[I]n the Village of Medreyga in Hungary, certain dead…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Germanc. 1650–presentVampirWiktionary, English vampireby way of Serbo-Croatian vàmpīr//ва̀мпӣр
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentvampireWiktionary, English vampire
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1732vampireWiktionary, English vampire. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1732, The London Journal: “[I]n the Village of Medreyga in Hungary, certain dead…”

Every English word from German Vampir

Today it means

noun A mythological creature (usually humanoid and undead) said to feed on the blood or life energy of the living.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vampire”. 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 / German Vampir / vampire

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