English
dynamo
Dynamo comes from Ancient Greek δύναμις ‘power’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- ‘to fit’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewh₂-1‘to fit’next step skipped: Ancient Greek δῠ́νᾰμαι
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδύναμις1dúnamis‘power’
- Englishearliest quotation 1950dynamo1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English dynamo
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?: “As usual, it isn't telling the truth about it…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewh₂-Wiktionary, English dynamo‘to fit’next step skipped: Ancient Greek δῠ́νᾰμαι
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδύναμιςWiktionary, English dynamodúnamis‘power’
- Englishearliest quotation 1950dynamoWiktionary, English dynamo. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?: “As usual, it isn't telling the truth about it…”
The story
The element dynamo- is ultimately from Ancient Greek δύναμις (dúnamis, “power”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- ‘to fit’
down, town, beautiful, beauty, ben, tool, bonus, teen, beneficial, rebel, optimal, boo, tow, bonnie, optimism, beau, boon, beneficiary, dun, dynasty, revel, bello, bona, bene, bonny, tine, taw, bauble, bellicose, dynastic, bonbon, 93 more
through Ancient Greek δύναμις ‘power’
thermodynamic, hydrodynamic, psychodynamic, biodynamic, hemodynamic, 57 more
Today it means
noun An electricity generator; a dynamo-electric machine.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- / dynamo