ἑπτά (Ancient Greek)

Where does "ἑπτά" come from?

The Ancient Greek numeral ἑπτά stems from the Proto-Indo-European root *septḿ̥, a word that echoes throughout history in Latin's septem and English's seven. Interestingly, linguists suggest this foundational number may have been an ancient 'culture word' shared between early Indo-European and Semitic peoples through direct contact, reflecting deep, cross-cultural roots dating back to the 14th century BCE.

Full etymology tree

• ἑπτά (heptá) (Ancient Greek), 'seven.'
  • inherited *heptə́ (Proto-Hellenic), 'seven'
    • inherited *septḿ̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'seven'
      • borrowed *šabʕ- (Proto-Semitic), 'seven'
        • inherited *sṗɣ (Proto-Afroasiatic)

Direct ancestors

• heptə́ (Proto-Hellenic)
• septḿ̥ (Proto-Indo-European)
• septem (Latin)
• सप्त (Sanskrit)
• եօթն (Old Armenian)
• seofon (Old English)
• seven (English)

Updated July 2026

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