Etymology

byzantine

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Today it means: Of or pertaining to Byzantium. Full definition →

Late Latin bȳzantīnus ← Latin Bȳzantium ← Ancient Greek Βῡζᾰ́ντῐον (Būzắntĭon)
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuǵ-
  2. Thracian*būzas
  3. Ancient GreekΒῡ́ζᾱς (Bū́zās)
  4. Ancient GreekΒῡζᾰ́ντῐον (Būzắntĭon)
  5. LatinBȳzantium
  6. Late Latinbȳzantīnus
  7. English todayByzantine

Borrowed from Late Latin bȳzantīnus, from Bȳzantium, from Ancient Greek Βυζάντιον (Buzántion). The figurative senses evoke the reputation for palace intrigue of the Byzantine imperial court.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.