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Where does the word "utopia" come from? It comes from Greek ou topos, and was adopted directly into English (1516).
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Where does the word "utopia" come from? It comes from Greek ou topos, and was adopted directly into English (1516).
Utopia’s story begins in Greek: ou topos meant “no place.” Literally no place, from ou (not) and topos (place). It reached English by 1516 as utopia. Coined by Thomas More as the name of his fictional ideal society. Today, utopia means an imagined place or state in which everything is perfect.
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient ou topos "no place", literally no place, from ou (not) and topos (place).
- Stage 2 · English · 1516 utopia "an imagined perfect society", coined by Thomas More as the name of his fictional ideal society.