*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of eu-

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁wes- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *h₁wésus? Proto-Indo-European *h₁es-? Proto-Indo-European *h₁su- Proto-Hellenic *ehu- Ancient Greek ἐΰς (eǘs) Ancient Greek εὖ (eû)d

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 ↗
prefix

good, well · true, genuine

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁wes- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *h₁wésus? Proto-Indo-European *h₁es-? Proto-Indo-European *h₁su- Proto-Hellenic *ehu- Ancient Greek ἐΰς (eǘs) Ancient Greek εὖ (eû)der. English eu- Derived from Ancient Greek εὖ (eû, “well, good”).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "grc:εὖ<t:well, good>",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁wes-\nProto-Indo-European *-us\nProto-Indo-European *h₁wésus?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁es-?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁su-\nProto-Hellenic *ehu-\nAncient Greek ἐΰς (eǘs)\nAncient Greek εὖ (eû)der.\nEnglish eu-\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"well, good\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"good\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁wes-\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-us\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁wésus\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"be\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁es-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁su-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"term\" : \"*ehu-\", \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"ἐΰς\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"εὖ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"eu-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"eu-\">\nDerived from Ancient Greek εὖ (eû, “well, good”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "grc:εὖ<t:well, good>",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁wes-\nProto-Indo-European *-us\nProto-Indo-European *h₁wésus?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁es-?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁su-\nProto-Hellenic *ehu-\nAncient Greek ἐΰς (eǘs)\nAncient Greek εὖ (eû)der.\nEnglish eu-\nDerived from Ancient Greek εὖ (eû, “well, good”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₁wes-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁wes-"
    ],
    [
      "*-us",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-us"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁wésus",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁wésus#Proto-Indo-European:_good"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁es-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁es-#Proto-Indo-European:_be"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁su-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁su-#Proto-Indo-European:_good"
    ],
    [
      "*ehu-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Hellenic/ehu-#Proto-Hellenic:_good"
    ],
    [
      "ἐΰς",
      "ἐΰς#Ancient_Greek:_good"
    ],
    [
      "εὖ",
      "εὖ#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "εὖ",
      "εὖ#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "good, well",
        "true, genuine"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "b7b75b06c1be908afc1207838dd5b65e2b17a90281ac5b370608b23ca4167ba6",
      "rawRecordSha256": "86eee00ef92dd43cad0abfd2a0b47369882440142ed400644bcddee24e2dada3",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1157229
    }
  ],
  "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 eu- →

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-ZXUt