Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "syllabus" come from? It comes from Late Latin syllabus, and was adopted directly into English (1650s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "syllabus" come from? It comes from Late Latin syllabus, and was adopted directly into English (1650s).
Syllabus’s story begins in Late Latin: syllabus meant “list.” A misprint of Greek 'sittyba', a label, in an edition of Cicero. It reached English by 1650s as syllabus. One of the few words born from a printing error. Today, syllabus means an outline of a course of study.
- Stage 1 · Late Latin · ancient syllabus "list", a misprint of Greek 'sittyba', a label, in an edition of Cicero.
- Stage 2 · English · 1650s syllabus "list of topics", one of the few words born from a printing error.