*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -oid

Learned borrowing from Latin -oīdēs, from Ancient Greek -ο-ειδής (-o-eidḗs) (the ο being the last vowel of the stem to which the suffix is attached); from εἶδος (eîdos, “form, likeness”). The sense for derogatorily namin

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

Resembling; having the likeness of (usually including the concept of not being the same despite the likeness, but counterexamples exist). · Of, pertaining to, or related to. · Added to nouns to create derogatory terms, typically referring to a particular ideology or group of people. · Added typically to the name of an algebraic structure, to denote the horizontal categorification of that structure.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Learned borrowing from Latin -oīdēs, from Ancient Greek -ο-ειδής (-o-eidḗs) (the ο being the last vowel of the stem to which the suffix is attached); from εἶδος (eîdos, “form, likeness”). The sense for derogatorily naming groups of people comes from a (originally satirical) reapplication from the usage of the suffix in phrenological and early anthropological terminology (e.g., Mongoloid, Caucasoid, etc.). While often viewed as offensive today, these ethnic terms were not meant to be derogatory inside these fields themselves, but were rather reapplications of the usage found in other scientific settings.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:-oīdēs<id:-oid>",
        "id": "resembling"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#learned_borrowing|Learned borrowing]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"-oid\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"connective\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"connective\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"-ο-\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-o-\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"id\" : \"adjectival\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"form\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"seeing\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"see\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*weyd-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"athematic\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-os\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*wéydos\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"term\" : \"*wéidos\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"εἶδος\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" }, { \"id\" : \"adjectival suffix\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*-ēs\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjectival suffix\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"id\" : \"athematic\", \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"ine-pro\", \"id\" : \"athematic\", \"pos\" : \"suffix\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-os\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-ēs\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"-ης\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"-ειδής\", \"gloss\" : \"-oid, -like\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-oīdēs\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"lbor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-oid\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"resembling\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-oid\" id=\"English:_resembling\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "lbor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-oīdēs"
      },
      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from Latin -oīdēs"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "-ο-ειδής"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek -ο-ειδής (-o-eidḗs)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:-oīdēs<id:-oid>",
        "id": "resembling"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "-oīdēs",
      "-oides#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ο",
      "-ο-#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "-ειδής",
      "-ειδής#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "εἶδος",
      "εἶδος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "satirical",
      "satirical"
    ],
    [
      "phrenological",
      "phrenological"
    ],
    [
      "anthropological",
      "anthropological"
    ],
    [
      "terminology",
      "terminology"
    ],
    [
      "Mongoloid",
      "Mongoloid"
    ],
    [
      "Caucasoid",
      "Caucasoid"
    ],
    [
      "scientific",
      "scientific"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Resembling; having the likeness of (usually including the concept of not being the same despite the likeness, but counterexamples exist).",
        "Of, pertaining to, or related to.",
        "Added to nouns to create derogatory terms, typically referring to a particular ideology or group of people.",
        "Added typically to the name of an algebraic structure, to denote the horizontal categorification of that structure."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme",
        "uncommon"
      ],
      "recordId": "7355d94e8f6ea14e1a39d0c678ae856dfaeb9859cf08c12d6a182b7e45cb43d7",
      "rawRecordSha256": "3630bb5ff78baa94ee0de26ffa76471ffe2a867857859d2533af8ec3ca9d08ed",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 216079
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -oid →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LW9pZA