English
Proserpina
Proserpina comes from Latin Prōserpina, and goes back to Ancient Greek Περσεφόνη.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΠερσεφόνηPersephónē
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEPrōserpina
- Englishearliest quotation 1866Proserpina
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΠερσεφόνηPersephónē
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEPrōserpina
- Englishearliest quotation 1866Proserpina
Earliest quotation: 1866, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Hymn to Proserpine: “Thou art more than the Gods who number the…”
The story
From Latin Prōserpina from Ancient Greek Περσεφόνη (Persephónē) by metathesis perhaps first in Magna Graecia via a Sicilian Doric Greek Προσερπίνα (Proserpína) or Ionic Greek Προσερπίνη (Proserpínē), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pers-o- (‘sheaf of corn, grain, seed’) and *gʷʰn̥-t- (‘to strike’), meaning 'grain-thresher' or 'She-who-threshes-the-grain'.
Every English word from Ancient Greek Περσεφόνη
Today it means
name The goddess of springtime, queen of the underworld and the wife of Pluto; the Roman equivalent of Persephone.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek Περσεφόνη / Proserpina