seismograph

Where does the word "seismograph" come from? It comes from Greek seismos, and was adopted directly into English (1858).

Seismograph’s story begins in Greek: seismos meant “earthquake, shaking.” Earthquake, shaking, combined with graphein (to write). It reached English by 1858 as seismograph. Coined from Greek seismos (earthquake) and graphein (to write) for an instrument recording ground movement. Today, seismograph means an instrument that detects and records the vibrations of earthquakes.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient seismos "earthquake, shaking", earthquake, shaking, combined with graphein (to write).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1858 seismograph "an instrument recording ground movement", coined from Greek seismos (earthquake) and graphein (to write) for an instrument recording ground movement.