English
agon
Agon comes from Latin agōn ‘a contest’, from Ancient Greek ἀγείρω ‘to collect, gather’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ger-‘to gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*agéřřō‘to collect, to gather’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀγείρωageírō‘to collect, gather’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἀγώνagṓn‘contest’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagōn‘a contest’
- Englishearliest quotation 1981agon
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ger-‘to gather’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*agéřřō‘to collect, to gather’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀγείρωageírō‘to collect, gather’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἀγώνagṓn‘contest’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagōn‘a contest’
- Englishearliest quotation 1981agon
Earliest quotation: 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology: “It was not ecological pressure or shortages of protein,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- ‘to gather’
aggregate, congregate, gregarious, gaff, gaon, agora, panegyric, 9 more
through Ancient Greek ἀγών ‘contest’
Today it means
noun A struggle or contest; conflict; especially between the protagonist and antagonist in a literary work.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- / agon