English
malaria
Malaria comes from Italian malaria, from aria ‘air’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- ‘dawn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ews-‘dawn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ewsér‘in the direction of dawn, east’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*auhḗr‘morning mist’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀήρ‘air’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEāera
- Italianc. 1300–presentaria‘air’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentmalaria
- Englishearliest quotation 1887malaria
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ews-‘dawn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ewsér‘in the direction of dawn, east’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*auhḗr‘morning mist’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀήρ‘air’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEāera
- Italianc. 1300–presentaria‘air’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentmalaria
- Englishearliest quotation 1887malaria
Earliest quotation: 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging: “The doctor had his hands full, as the air…”
The story
Introduced into English by the Scottish geologist John MacCulloch (1773–1835).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- ‘dawn’
or, east, exhaust, aurora, aureus, aural, aurelia, austral, oriel, aurum, oriole, 60 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewsér ‘in the direction of dawn, east’
easter, aura, eastward, aeroplane, 17 more
through Proto-Hellenic *auhḗr ‘morning mist’
through Ancient Greek ἀήρ ‘air’
through Latin āera
Today it means
noun A disease spread by mosquito, in which a protozoan, Plasmodium, multiplies in blood every few days.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- / malaria