English
psephology
Psephology comes from Ancient Greek ψῆφος ‘pebble used for reckoning’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEψῆφοςpsêphos‘pebble used for reckoning’
- Englishearliest quotation 1917psephology
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEψῆφοςpsêphos‘pebble used for reckoning’
- Englishearliest quotation 1917psephology
Earliest quotation: 1917, The Quest – Volume 8, Part 2: “Let us first see how the matter of this…”
Formed from psepho- ‘pebble’ + -ology ‘study of’
The story
The sense relating to elections was coined in 1948 by Frank Hardie.
Every English word from Ancient Greek ψῆφος
Today it means
noun The predictive or statistical study of elections.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek ψῆφος / psephology