Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "biography" come from? It comes from Greek bios, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "biography" come from? It comes from Greek bios, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).
Biography’s story begins in Greek: bios meant “life.” Life, combined with graphein (to write) for a written life story. It reached English by 1600s as biography. Settled as the word for a written account of a person's life. Today, biography means a written account of another person's life.
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient bios "life", life, combined with graphein (to write) for a written life story.
- Stage 2 · English · 1600s biography "a written account of a person's life", settled as the word for a written account of a person's life.