*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of peony

From Old English peonie, peonia et al., from Latin paeōnia; later reinforced by Anglo-Norman peonie, Old French peone, pyoine (French pivoine), from Latin paeōnia, from Hellenistic Ancient Greek παιωνία (paiōnía), from A

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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 ↗
noun

A flowering plant of the genus Paeonia with large fragrant flowers. · A dark red colour.

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

From Old English peonie, peonia et al., from Latin paeōnia; later reinforced by Anglo-Norman peonie, Old French peone, pyoine (French pivoine), from Latin paeōnia, from Hellenistic Ancient Greek παιωνία (paiōnía), from Ancient Greek Παιών (Paiṓn, “Paeon, the physician of the gods”)/παιών (paiṓn, “a physician”).

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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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "peonie"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English peonie"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "paeōnia"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin paeōnia"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "peonie"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman peonie"
    },
    {
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        "2": "fro",
        "3": "peone",
        "4": "peone, pyoine"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French peone, pyoine"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "pivoine"
      },
      "expansion": "French pivoine"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "paeōnia"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin paeōnia"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "παιωνία"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek παιωνία (paiōnía)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "Παιών",
        "4": "",
        "5": "Paeon, the physician of the gods"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek Παιών (Paiṓn, “Paeon, the physician of the gods”)"
    }
  ],
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    ],
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    ],
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    ],
    [
      "peonie",
      "peonie#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "peone, pyoine",
      "peone#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "pivoine",
      "pivoine#French"
    ],
    [
      "paeōnia",
      "paeonia#Latin"
    ],
    [
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      "παιωνία#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
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      "Παιών#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "παιών",
      "παιών#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A flowering plant of the genus Paeonia with large fragrant flowers.",
        "A dark red colour."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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      "rawRecordSha256": "49261458869b3040e6addf6ed894e9c878dd2550077d0ac41f16a8b498556fb0",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 261933
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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    "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 peony →

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-cGVvbnk