English
daimon
Daimon comes from Ancient Greek δαίμων ‘the one who divides, dispenser, tutelary deity’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαιdaíomai‘to divide’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEδαίμωνdaímōn‘the one who divides, dispenser, tutelary deity’
- Englishearliest quotation 1890daimon
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαιdaíomai‘to divide’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEδαίμωνdaímōn‘the one who divides, dispenser, tutelary deity’
- Englishearliest quotation 1890daimon
Earliest quotation: 1890, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Over the Teacups: “All at once, my daimōn—that other Me over whom…”
The story
A modern romanization of Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “the one who divides, dispenser, tutelary deity”), intended to distinguish its ancient Greek sense from later conceptions of demons.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- ‘to share, to divide’
time, till, tide, til, tease, tass, 22 more
through Ancient Greek δαίομαι ‘to divide’
through Ancient Greek δαίμων ‘the one who divides, dispenser, tutelary deity’
Today it means
noun Synonym of demon, particularly as
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- / daimon