thermostat

Where does the word "thermostat" come from? It comes from Greek thermos, and was adopted directly into English (1830).

Thermostat’s story begins in Greek: thermos meant “hot.” Hot, combined with statos (standing, stationary). It reached English by 1830 as thermostat. Coined from Greek thermos (hot) and statos (standing) for a device that keeps temperature steady. Today, thermostat means a device that automatically regulates temperature.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient thermos "hot", hot, combined with statos (standing, stationary).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1830 thermostat "a device that keeps temperature steady", coined from Greek thermos (hot) and statos (standing) for a device that keeps temperature steady.