English
exotic
Exotic comes from Latin exōticus ‘foreign, exotic’, from Ancient Greek ἔξω ‘outside’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs ‘out of’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁eǵʰs‘out of’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*eksreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐκexas ἐξ‘out’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἔξω‘outside’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐξωτικόςexōtikós‘foreign’literally ‘from the outside’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexōticus‘foreign, exotic’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600exotique
- Englishearliest quotation 1682exotic
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁eǵʰs‘out of’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*eksreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐκexas ἐξ‘out’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἔξω‘outside’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐξωτικόςexōtikós‘foreign’literally ‘from the outside’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexōticus‘foreign, exotic’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600exotique
- Englishearliest quotation 1682exotic
Earliest quotation: 1682, [Diary entry for 24 November 1682]: “Nothing was so splendid and exotic as the ambassador.”
The story
Borrowed from Middle French exotique, from Latin exōticus, from Ancient Greek ἐξωτικός (exōtikós, “foreign”, literally “from the outside”), from ἐξω- (exō-, “outside”), from ἐξ (ex, “out of”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs ‘out of’
Today it means
adj Foreign, especially in an exciting way.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs / exotic