Etymology

Thomas

T1H4O1M3A1S1

Today it means: An infidel or doubter. Full definition →

Middle English Thomas ← Latin Thōmās m ← Ancient Greek Θωμᾶς m
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Aramaic · derived fromתאומא
  2. Ancient Greek · derived fromΘωμᾶς m
  3. Latin · derived fromThōmās m
  4. Middle English · inherited fromThomas
  5. English todayThomas

Inherited from Middle English Thomas, from Latin Thōmās m (as in the Vulgate), from Ancient Greek Θωμᾶς m (Thōmâs), the Biblical Greek transcription of Aramaic תאומא or תאמא (“twin”), the nickname of one of the Twelve Apostles. In the gospel of John (11:16, 20:24), the Aramaic nickname is also translated into Greek, as δίδυμος m (dídumos). Used as a given name since the Middle Ages, e.g. Thomas the Presbyter (7th century), Thomas the Slav (8th century), Thomas of Bayeux (died 1100). (infidel or doubter): In reference to the doubting Apostle.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.