*SET-U

WITNESS / 195

ALL WITNESSES ↗
PERMANENT ATTESTATION RECORDWITNESS / 195

OBJECT
BEFORE
CLAIM.

SOURCE-REPORTED ATTESTATION

THE PRIMARY OBJECT WAS NOT CHECKED.

Source-reported first-use year; no primary 1882 object was directly inspected.

Present-Day English1882 first known useestablished

chthonic

Merriam-Webster first-known-use report

“1882, in the underworld sense”
WITNESS TYPE
Lexicographic first-use report
YEAR
1882
LOCATOR
Word History: First Known Use
REPOSITORY
Merriam-Webster
SHELFMARK / OBJECT ID
Not recorded
FACSIMILE
Not linked
DIRECT INSPECTION
No
CONFIDENCE
established
01

BIBLIOGRAPHIC PROVENANCE

THE SOURCE BEHIND THE CLAIM

TITLE
Chthonic — Definition, Word History, and First Known Use
AUTHOR
Merriam-Webster Editors
YEAR
2026
PUBLISHER
Merriam-Webster
SOURCE TYPE
historical dictionary
CITATION KEY
mw-chthonic