English
lethetic
Lethetic comes from Ancient Greek λανθάνω ‘to forget’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλανθάνωlḗthōas λήθω‘to forget’
- Englishearliest quotation 1984lethetic
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλανθάνωlḗthōas λήθω‘to forget’
- Englishearliest quotation 1984lethetic
Earliest quotation: 1984, Fantasy Review - Issues 64-74:: “These lethetic fictions cut their ties to the real…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- ‘to be hidden, be covered’
loom, latent, lament, lull, loll, laika, lethargic, 16 more
through Ancient Greek λανθάνω ‘to forget’
Today it means
adj Failing to mirror reality, purely escapist or nonsensical.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek λανθάνω / lethetic