agoraphobia (English)
Where does "agoraphobia" come from?
The English noun 'agoraphobia' is a modern coinage introduced in 1871 by Karl Friedrich Otto Westphal[1]. The term is built from Latin 'agoraphobia', which combines Ancient Greek elements including 'ἀγορά', meaning 'assembly'[1]. The Greek root traces back through Proto-Hellenic forms to the Proto-Indo-European root '*h₂ger-', meaning 'to gather'[2][3][4].
Open questions
- The exact derivation through Proto-Hellenic stages involves reconstructed forms such as '*h₂goréh₂' and '*h₂ger-' that are not directly attested. [2] [3] [4]
Full etymology tree
- agoraphobia (English), 'The fear of wide open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions.'
- borrowed agoraphobia (Latin)
- compound ἀγορά (agorá) (Ancient Greek), 'assembly, especially an assembly of the people (as opposed to a council, βουλή (boulḗ))'
- inherited *agorā́ (Proto-Hellenic), 'market'
- inherited *h₂goréh₂ (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *h₂ger- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to gather'
- inherited *h₂goréh₂ (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *agorā́ (Proto-Hellenic), 'market'
- compound φοβία (phobía) (Ancient Greek)
- compound ἀγορά (agorá) (Ancient Greek), 'assembly, especially an assembly of the people (as opposed to a council, βουλή (boulḗ))'
- borrowed agoraphobia (Latin)
Ancestors
- *h₂ger- (Proto-Indo-European)
- ἀγορά (Ancient Greek)
Descendants and derived words
- agoraphobiac (English)
Sources
- agoraphobia (English) - Wiktionary
- ἀγορά (agorá) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
- agorā́ (Proto-Hellenic) - Wiktionary
- agéřřō (Proto-Hellenic) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris