English
ecology
Ecology comes from Ancient Greek οἶκος ‘house’, from Proto-Hellenic *wóikos ‘a settlement’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyḱ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyḱ-‘to enter in, settle’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wóyḱos‘settlement’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*wóikos‘a settlement’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEοἶκοςoîkos‘house’
- Englishearliest quotation 1949ecology
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyḱ-‘to enter in, settle’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wóyḱos‘settlement’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*wóikos‘a settlement’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEοἶκοςoîkos‘house’
- Englishearliest quotation 1949ecology
Earliest quotation: 1949, George R. Stewart: “As a graduate student, he was working on a…”
Equivalent to eco- + -logy
Proto-Indo-European *weyḱ- ‘to enter in, settle’
Proto-Indo-European *wóyḱos ‘settlement’
Proto-Hellenic *wóikos ‘a settlement’
Ancient Greek οἶκος ‘house, household’
English eco-
The story
Calque of German Ökologie (coined in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel), from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) + -λογία (-logía, “study of”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weyḱ- ‘to enter in, settle’
village, villa, vicinity, wick, ville, 40 more
through Proto-Hellenic *wóikos ‘a settlement’
through Ancient Greek οἶκος ‘house’
Today it means
noun The branch of biology dealing with the relationships of organisms with their environment and with each other.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weyḱ- / ecology