English
theme
Theme comes from Middle English teme, from Old French teme, from Latin thema, from Greek θέμα ‘that which is placed’, from τίθημι ‘to put’, from PIE *dʰeh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-‘to put, place’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτίθημι‘to put, place’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEθέμα‘that which is placed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEthema‘theme, topic’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400teme
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘topic’
- Englishearliest quotation 1828theme
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-‘to put, place’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτίθημι‘to put, place’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEθέμα‘that which is placed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEthema‘theme, topic’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400teme
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘topic’
- Englishearliest quotation 1828theme
Earliest quotation: 1828, James Hogg: “Had not you once a beautiful daughter, named Mary?"…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
do, fact, deal, hot, fair, defense, fan, benefit, fashion, feature, mid, defence, custom, sufficient, treasury, treasure, ethnic, defendant, feast, ethical, doom, tick, deed, dis, aesthetic, synthetic, thesis, auditorium, theology, auditor, spade, forfeit, feral, ethic, fanatic, familial, atheist, prefect, certify, profanity, 130 more
Today it means
noun A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- / theme