xenophobia

/ˌzenəˈfəʊbiə/zeh-nuh-FOH-bee-uh

/ˌzɛnəˈfoʊbiə/zeh-nuh-FOH-bee-uh

Meaningfear of strangers

Common meaning: dislike or dread of foreigners

xena stranger, guestLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1017 · scan
phobfear, panic flightLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 867 · scan
ianoun ending (Latin/Greek) for a field or condition

‘a stranger, guest’ + ‘fear, panic flight’ → xenophobia

Journey through time

Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.

xen — Greek ξένος “a stranger, guest” (dictionary form; path not traced)
phob — Greek φόβος “fear, panic flight” (dictionary form; path not traced)

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Greek ξένος ‘a stranger, guest’ + Greek φόβος ‘fear, panic flight’.

Did you know (Greek phobos meant…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry φόβος, p. 867 · dictionary scan

Did you know (Greek xenos, a…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry ξένος, p. 1017 · dictionary scan

Roots

ξένος Greek “a stranger, guest”
φόβος Greek “fear, panic flight”

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