Etymology

isis

I1S1I1S1

Today it means: Any coral of the genus Isis, or family Isididae, composed of joints of white, stony coral, alternating with flexible, horny joints. Full definition →

Latin Īsis ← Ancient Greek Ἶσις ← Egyptian st-t:H8-B1
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isis · noun1

From the genus name.

Isis · proper noun2

  1. Egyptian · derived fromst-t:H8-B1
  2. Ancient Greek · derived fromἾσις
  3. Latin · learned borrowing fromĪsis
  4. English todayIsis

Learned borrowing from Latin Īsis from Ancient Greek Ἶσις (Îsis), from Egyptian st-t:H8-B1 (ꜣst).

Isis · proper noun, proper noun3

  1. Latin · derived fromTamesis“Thames”
  2. English todayIsis

Back-formation of the Latin Tamesis (“Thames”), from the assumption that the word was derived from a compound of Thame (“A tributary of the Thames”) and Isis. The prison was named after the river.

ISIS · proper noun4

(Salafist group): An acronym of one English translation of one of the group's Arabic-language names, الدَّوْلَة الْإِسْلَامِيَّة فِي الْعِرَاق وَٱلشَّام (ad-dawla l-ʔislāmiyya fī l-ʕirāq wa-š-šām, literally “the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria”). Compare ISIL, which translates الشَّام (aš-šām) as “the Levant” rather than “Syria”.

Words from the same roots

LatinTamesis all →

Thames

First known use, by meaning

  • from 2013 A Salafist group mainly active in Iraq and Syria, where it has proclaimed itself as a (unrecognized) state and later caliphate.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.