English
anodyne
Anodyne comes from Medieval Latin anōdynos ‘stilling or relieving pain’, and goes back to Ancient Greek ὀδύνη.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀδύνηodúnē‘pain’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἀνώδυνοςanṓdunos‘free from pain’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500anōdynos‘stilling or relieving pain’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500anodine
- Englishearliest quotation 1847anodyne
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὀδύνηodúnē‘pain’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἀνώδυνοςanṓdunos‘free from pain’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500anōdynos‘stilling or relieving pain’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500anodine
- Englishearliest quotation 1847anodyne
Earliest quotation: 1847, Littell's Living Age: “Many a time has the vapor of ether been…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- ‘to eat’
eat, et, anna, obesity, edible, ana, ent, fret, etch, phage, esca, 21 more
Today it means
adj Capable of soothing or eliminating pain.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek ὀδύνη / anodyne