English
poesy
Poesy comes from Middle French poesie ‘poetry’, from Ancient Greek ποίησις ‘creation’, and ultimately from Proto-Hellenic *kʷoiwéyō ‘to make’.
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoiwéyō‘to make’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποιέω‘to make’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEποίησιςpoíēsis‘creation’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpoesia
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600poesie‘poetry’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1603poesy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoiwéyō‘to make’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποιέω‘to make’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEποίησιςpoíēsis‘creation’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpoesia
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600poesie‘poetry’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1603poesy
Earliest quotation: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “I know not well how to excuse him, in…”
Formed from poesie + -esy
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pile, stow, gather’
pain, penalty, punishment, pine, punish, titanium, penal, punitive, impunity, whey, subpoena, 20 more
through Proto-Hellenic *kʷoiwéyō ‘to make’
through Ancient Greek ποιέω ‘to make’
poetry, poem, poet, onomatopoeia, 7 more
Today it means
noun A poem.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Hellenic *kʷoiwéyō / poesy