Etymology

hypnosis

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Today it means: A trancelike state, artificially induced, in which a person has a heightened suggestibility, and in which suppressed memories may be experienced. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ὕπνωσις (húpnōsis) ← Proto-Hellenic *húpnos ← Proto-Indo-European *supnós
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swep-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*supnós
  3. Proto-Hellenic*húpnos
  4. Ancient Greekὕπνος (húpnos)
  5. Ancient Greekὑπνόω (hupnóō)
  6. Ancient Greekὕπνωσις (húpnōsis)
  7. English todayhypnosis

From modern scholarly Ancient Greek ὕπνωσις (húpnōsis), which formation closes the derivational gap between the ancient words ὑπνόω (hupnóō, “I put to sleep”) and ὑπνωτικός (hupnōtikós, “sleep-inducing, soporific”). Ultimately traces back to ὕπνος (húpnos, “sleep”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.