*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Atlas

From Latin Ā̆tlās, from Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), either from ἁ- (ha-, copulative prefix) + Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“bear, undergo, endure”) or of Pre-Greek origin.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A particular model or individual specimen of the Atlas missile and launch vehicle line.

name

The son of Iapetus and Clymene, war leader of the Titans ordered by the god Zeus to support the sky on his shoulders; father to the Hesperides, the Hyades, and the Pleiades; king of the legendary Atlantis. · An unincorporated community in Pike County, Illinois. · A township in Genesee County, Michigan. · An unincorporated community in Lamar County, Texas.

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

From Latin Ā̆tlās, from Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), either from ἁ- (ha-, copulative prefix) + Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“bear, undergo, endure”) or of Pre-Greek origin.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 7 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    },
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    },
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      "Atlas#Latin"
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    ],
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      "ἁ-",
      "ἁ-#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
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      "*telh₂-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/telh₂-"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
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      "glosses": [
        "A particular model or individual specimen of the Atlas missile and launch vehicle line."
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

A subgroup of the Berber languages. · Ellipsis of Atlas Mountains.

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

From French Atlas. From the Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), stemming from the belief that the mountain range is actually the body of the Titan Atlas after being turned to stone. The Berber languages exist in the region of the Atlas Mountains.

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.

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  ],
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    ],
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      "Titan",
      "Titan"
    ],
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      "Atlas"
    ]
  ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
name

Alternative form of ATLAS.

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

Alteration of ATLAS

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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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 Atlas →

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-QXRsYXM