cosmos

Where does the word "cosmos" come from? It comes from Greek kosmos, passing through Latin before entering English (1600s).

Cosmos’s story begins in Greek: kosmos meant “order, the universe.” Meaning "order" or "the ordered universe". By ancient, the word had taken hold in Latin as cosmos. Pythagoras is said to have first used 'kosmos', order, for the universe. It reached English by 1600s as cosmos. Settled as the English word for the universe as an ordered system. Today, cosmos means the universe seen as an orderly, harmonious system.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient kosmos "order, the universe", meaning "order" or "the ordered universe".
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient cosmos "the ordered universe", Pythagoras is said to have first used 'kosmos', order, for the universe.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s cosmos "the universe as an orderly, harmonious system", settled as the English word for the universe as an ordered system.