English
politic
Politic comes from Latin polīticus ‘political, civil, of the state, relating to…’, from Ancient Greek πολιτικός ‘civic, constitutional, public’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tpólHis.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tpólHisreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ptólis‘city’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπόλις‘city’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπολίτηςpolítēs‘citizen’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπολιτικόςpolitikós‘civic, constitutional, public’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpolīticus‘political, civil, of the state, relating to civil polity’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600politique
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587politic
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tpólHisreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ptólis‘city’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπόλις‘city’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπολίτηςpolítēs‘citizen’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπολιτικόςpolitikós‘civic, constitutional, public’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpolīticus‘political, civil, of the state, relating to civil polity’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600politique
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1587politic
Earliest quotation: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., (please specify the folio): “[H]e with his people made all but one politic…”
Linked words
through Ancient Greek πόλις ‘city’
through Ancient Greek πολίτης ‘citizen’
Today it means
adj Of or relating to polity, or civil government; political.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tpólHis / politic