theme (English)

Where does "theme" come from?

The English word 'theme' traces its roots back through Middle English 'teme' and Old French 'teme' or 'tesme' to the Latin word 'thema'[1][2][7]. This Latin term was borrowed directly from the Ancient Greek 'θέμα', which means that which is set or placed[1][3][4]. The Greek noun was formed from the verb 'τίθημι', meaning to set, put, or place[3][5]. Ultimately, this verb descends from the Proto-Indo-European root '*dʰeh₁-', meaning to put, place, or do, which is also the ancestor of the English word 'do'[1][5][6].

Open questions

The development involving the Old French form 'tesme' includes an unetymological s. [7]

Full etymology tree

theme (English), 'A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.'
- borrowed teme (Middle English), 'topic, focus, matter'
  - borrowed teme (Old French)
    - inherited thema (Latin), 'theme, topic'
      - inherited θέμα (théma) (Ancient Greek), 'That which is placed or laid down.'
        derived τίθημι (títhemi) (Ancient Greek), 'to put, place, set'
        inherited *t(e/i)tʰēmi (Proto-Hellenic)
        inherited *dʰé-dʰeh₁-ti (Proto-Indo-European)
        derived *dʰeh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to do'
        suffix -μα (-ma) (Ancient Greek), 'Added to verbal stems to form neuter nouns denoting the effect or result of an action, a particular instance of an action, or the object of an action'

Ancestors

*dʰeh₁- (Proto-Indo-European)
teme (Middle English)
thema (Latin)
θέμα (Ancient Greek)

Cognates and doublets

do (English)
thema (English)
thème (French)

Sources

Updated September 2026

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