cinnamon shadowdragon (English)

Where does "cinnamon shadowdragon" come from?

The English noun cinnamon shadowdragon is a compound formed by combining 'cinnamon' and 'shadowdragon'[1]. The first part traces back through Middle English and Old French forms to Ancient Greek and ultimately Phoenician[2]. The second part is a compound of 'shadow' and 'dragon'[3]. 'Shadow' descends through Middle and Old English from Proto-Germanic and Proto-Indo-European roots denoting darkness[4], while 'dragon' reaches English via Old French from Latin and Ancient Greek words meaning a serpent of huge size[5].

Open questions

The ultimate origin of the ancient Greek term for cinnamon from Phoenician rests on the historical account of Herodotus. [2] [7]
The ancient Greek word for dragon is traditionally related to a root meaning to see, though this derivation is not absolute. [10]

Full etymology tree

cinnamon shadowdragon (English), 'A shadowdragon dragonfly of species Neurocordulia virginiensis.'
- compound cinnamon (English), 'A small evergreen tree native to Sri Lanka and southern India, Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum zeylanicum, belonging to the family Lauraceae.'
  - inherited synamome (Middle English), 'cinnamon (The bark of trees of certain species of the genus Cinnamomum)'
    - inherited cinnamone (Old French)
      - inherited cinnamomum (Latin), 'cinnamon (plant and produce)'
        inherited κιννάμωμον (kinnámōmon) (Ancient Greek), 'Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia)'
- compound shadowdragon (English), 'Any of genus Neurocordulia (family Corduliidae) of dragonflies.'
  - compound shadow (English), 'A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object.'
    - inherited schadwe (Middle English), 'A shadow; a dark image reflected by shade.'
      - inherited sceadu (Old English), 'shadow'
        inherited *skadu (Proto-West Germanic), 'shadow'
        inherited *skadwaz (Proto-Germanic), 'a shadow'
        inherited *(s)ḱh₃-tús (Proto-Indo-European)
        derived *(s)ḱeh₃- (Proto-Indo-European), 'darkness, shadow'
  - compound dragon (English), 'A legendary serpentine or reptilian creature.'
    - inherited dragoun (Middle English), 'A dragon, drake, wyrm (mythological creature)'
      - inherited dragon (Old French), 'dragon (mythical animal)'
        inherited draco (Latin), 'A dragon; a kind of snake or serpent.'
        inherited δράκων (drákōn) (Ancient Greek), 'dragon, serpent'
        derived δέρκομαι (dérkomai) (Ancient Greek), 'to see, see clearly'

Ancestors

cinnamon (English)
shadowdragon (English)

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris