English
semaphore
Semaphore comes from Ancient Greek σῆμα ‘mark, sign, token’, from φέρω ‘carry, bring’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰérō‘to bear’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφέρω‘carry, bring’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσῆμαsêma‘mark, sign, token’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsémaphore
- Englishearliest quotation 1821semaphore
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰérō‘to bear’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφέρω‘carry, bring’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσῆμαsêma‘mark, sign, token’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsémaphore
- Englishearliest quotation 1821semaphore
Earliest quotation: 1821, [Papers in Mechanics.] No. V. Improved Semaphore.: “The large Silver Medal of the Society was this…”
Equivalent to sema- + -phore
The story
The noun is borrowed from French sémaphore, from Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma, “mark, sign, token”) + French -phore (from Ancient Greek -φόρος (-phóros, suffix indicating a bearer or carrier)).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
bar, birth, broad, suffering, prefer, bread, burden, bearing, fortune, differently, barn, barrel, fury, baron, bark, breeze, bore, berth, broom, barrow, differentiation, indifferent, infertility, embargo, fret, infertile, ferret, deference, insufferable, furtive, bier, differentially, bahar, proffer, deferential, differentiable, birr, bairn, burnish, differentiator, 115 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti ‘to be carrying’
different, offer, difference, transfer, bear, reference, suffer, translation, relative, extraordinary, relation, relate, differ, frustration, translate, referendum, fertility, referee, strangely, fertile, borne, extravagant, defer, confer, infer, fertilization, frustrate, elated, infra, extraneous, ablation, elation, strangeness, collation, fertilize, dilate, collate, ablative, oblate, estrange, 104 more
through Ancient Greek φέρω ‘carry, bring’
phosphate, phosphorus, euphoria, dysphoria, phosphine, 23 more
through Ancient Greek σῆμα ‘mark, sign, token’
Today it means
noun Any equipment used for visual signalling by means of flags, lights, or mechanically moving arms, which are used to represent letters of the alphabet, or words.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- / semaphore