Indo-European
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Indo-European
- /ˌɪndəʊˌjʊəɹəˈpiːən/
Where it comes from
Coined by English polymath Thomas Young in 1813, from Indo- + European, relating to the geographical extremes in India and Europe (which was valid before the discovery of Tocharian languages in the early 20th century).
proper noun Indoeuropean · IE · IE.
- A major language family which includes many of the native languages of Europe, Western Asia and India, with notable Indic, Iranian and European sub-branches.
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Proto-Indo-European: the hypothetical parent language of the Indo-European language family.
Similar: Indo-Germanic
noun Indo-Europeans · Indoeuropean · IE · IE.
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A member of the original ethnolinguistic group hypothesized to have spoken Proto-Indo-European and thus to have been the ancestor for most of India and Western Eurasia.
Two theories of the origins of the Indo-Europeans currently compete. M. Gimbutas believes that early Indo-Europeans entered southeastern Europe from the Pontic Steppes starting ca. 4500 B.C. and spread from there. C. Renfrew equates early Indo-Europeans with early farmers who entered southeastern Eu
Similar: Proto-Indo-European
- A speaker of any Indo-European language (though especially an ancient one), or a member of an Indo-European culture, who is regarded as a continuation of the Proto-Indo-Europeans in terms of language, ancestry, or cultural affinity. To the same direction points a recent revelation made by Professor Henning who identifies the Gutians or Kutians and Tukres of the ancient Near East that occur in the cuneiform inscriptions of the end of the 3rd millennium B.C. with historical Kuchi-Tocharians, this being the earliest appearance of
- A European living in India or the Indies. The sale of looted items persisted for a month, and quick profits were made by burghers and Indo-Europeans.
- A person of mixed European and Indian or Indonesian ancestry.
adjective more Indo-European · most Indo-European · Indoeuropean · IE · IE.
- Of or relating to the family of languages originally spoken in Europe and Western Asia. Of the great Indo-European family of languages the general principal was also that of one name for each individual[…]
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Of or relating to the hypothetical parent language of the Indo-European language family.
Similar: Proto-Indo-European, PIE
- Of or relating to the hypothetical group of peoples that spread early Indo-European languages. As there is no evidence for Indo-European apiculture, we have to reckon with foreign origin for κηρός […].
- Of or relating to persons of mixed European and Indian or Indonesian ancestry.
Translations
Every language
name language family
| 日本語 | インド・ヨーロッパ語族 Indo-Yōroppa-gozoku |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | भारोपीय bhāropīya, हिन्द-यूरोपीय hind-yūropīya |
| Français | indo-européen |
| Deutsch | Indogermanisch |
| العربية | هِنْدُوأُورُوبِّيَّة hindūʔūrūbbiyya |
name proto-language
| हिन्दी | आदिम-भारोपीय ādim-bhāropīya, आदिम-हिन्द-यूरोपीय ādim-hind-yūropīya |
|---|---|
| Français | indo-européen |
| Deutsch | Indogermanisch, Urindogermanisch |
noun member of Proto-Indo-European ethnolinguistic group
| 日本語 | インド・ヨーロッパ語族 |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | हिन्द-यूरोपीय hind-yūropīya, भारोपीय bhāropīya |
| Português | indo-europeu |
| Français | indo-européen |
| Deutsch | Indogermane, Indoeuropäer, Indogermanin, Indoeuropäerin |
| Română | indo-european |
| Русский | индоевропе́ец indojevropéjec, индоевропе́йка indojevropéjka |
| עברית | הודו־אירופי |
adj of or relating to languages originally spoken in Europe and Western Asia
| Español | indoeuropeo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 인도유럽의 Indoyureob-ui |
| 日本語 | インドヨーロッパ Indoyōroppa |
| 中文 | 印歐 /印欧 Yìn-Ōu |
| हिन्दी | भारत-यूरोपीय bhārat-yūropīya, भारोपीय bhāropīya, हिंद-यूरोपीय hind-yūropīya |
| Português | indo-europeu |
| Français | indoeuropéen |
| Deutsch | indogermanisch, indoeuropäisch |
| Italiano | indoeuropeo |
| Ελληνικά | ινδοευρωπαϊκός indoevropaïkós |
| Русский | индоевропе́йский indojevropéjskij |
| العربية | هِنْدِيّ-أُورُوبِيّ hindiyy-ʔurūbiyy |
| עברית | הודו־אירופי |
adj of or relating to hypothetical parent language of Indo-European language family — see also Proto-Indo-European
| Português | indo-europeu |
|---|---|
| Français | indoeuropéen |
| Deutsch | indogermanisch, urindogermanisch, indoeuropäisch |
adj of or relating to hypothetical group of peoples having spread Indo-European languages
| Português | indo-europeu |
|---|---|
| Français | indoeuropéen |
| Deutsch | indogermanisch, indoeuropäisch |
Talk about this word "Indo-European." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/indo-european. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. Indo-European. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/indo-european "Indo-European." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/indo-european.Cite this
@misc{indo_european_2026,
title = {Indo-European},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/indo-european},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
