English
poet
Poet comes from Latin poēta ‘poet, author’, from Ancient Greek ποιέω ‘to make, compose’, and ultimately from Proto-Hellenic *kʷoiwéyō.
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoiwéyō‘to make’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποιέωpoiéō‘to make, compose’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEποιητήςpoiētḗs‘creator, maker, author, poet’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoēta‘poet, author’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400poete
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600poete
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500poete
- Englishtodaypoet
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoiwéyō‘to make’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποιέωpoiéō‘to make, compose’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEποιητήςpoiētḗs‘creator, maker, author, poet’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoēta‘poet, author’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400poete
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600poete
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500poete
- Englishtodaypoet
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pile, stow, gather’
pain, penalty, punishment, pine, punish, titanium, penal, punitive, impunity, whey, subpoena, 23 more
through Ancient Greek ποιέω ‘to make, compose’
Today it means
noun A person who writes poems.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Hellenic *kʷoiwéyō / poet