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English word origin

Etymology of zoe

From Ancient Greek ζωή (zōḗ, “life”), first distinguished in this particular sense by Giorgio Agamben.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Bare or universal life.

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

From Ancient Greek ζωή (zōḗ, “life”), first distinguished in this particular sense by Giorgio Agamben.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Borrowed-form mentionζωήgrc
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "ζωή",
        "4": "",
        "5": "life"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ζωή (zōḗ, “life”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ζωή",
      "ζωή#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "life",
      "life"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Bare or universal life."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "6f818c7d57857a4c19b18184dadf5a994e3a9f47f40bbd023b79ea3df4cd0cb1",
      "rawRecordSha256": "46d8789d1caa2428cb12de86d9c34edf5fa074ecf31a90425216dfcd5a3b3b73",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 3171444
    }
  ],
  "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 zoe →

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-em9l