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Where does the word "exotic" come from? It comes from Greek exōtikos, passing through French before entering English (1590s).
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Where does the word "exotic" come from? It comes from Greek exōtikos, passing through French before entering English (1590s).
Exotic’s story begins in Greek: exōtikos meant “foreign.” Greek, from 'exō', outside. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in French as exotique. Came via Latin 'exoticus'. It reached English by 1590s as exotic. The sense 'strikingly unusual' dates from the 1600s. Today, exotic means originating in a distant foreign country.
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient exōtikos "foreign", Greek, from 'exō', outside.
- Stage 2 · French · 1500s exotique "foreign", came via Latin 'exoticus'.
- Stage 3 · English · 1590s exotic "foreign", the sense 'strikingly unusual' dates from the 1600s.