English
polemic
Polemic comes from Ancient Greek πολεμικός ‘of war’, and goes back to πόλεμος.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπόλεμοςpólemos‘war’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπολεμικόςpolemikós‘of war’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpolémique
- Englishearliest quotation 1893polemic
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπόλεμοςpólemos‘war’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπολεμικόςpolemikós‘of war’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpolémique
- Englishearliest quotation 1893polemic
Earliest quotation: 1893, Report of the Third Decennial Missionary: “A fourth hindrance is by some held to be,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pel- ‘to beat, push, drive’
film, felt, simply, simple, push, filter, complain, pulse, powder, pillow, repeal, fold, flaw, palate, compulsive, expel, repel, propel, pall, pelt, palatable, pollen, wallow, peloton, palatal, peplum, tuple, pulver, pillion, pollinate, muffle, apoplexy, interpolate, 63 more
through Ancient Greek πάλλω ‘to poise, sway, brandish’
Today it means
noun A person who writes in support of one opinion, doctrine, or system, in opposition to another; one skilled in polemics; a controversialist; a disputant.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek πόλεμος / polemic