In·do-Eu·ro·pe·an
ËŒin-dÅ-ËŒyu̇r-É™-ˈpÄ“-É™n 
: of, relating to, or constituting the Indo-European languages
1
a
: a member of the people speaking an unrecorded prehistoric language from which the Indo-European languages are descended
b
: this language
Examples of Indo-European in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Its roots are purely imitative, echoing the sound itself rather than deriving from a concrete Indo-European root.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
The team turned their model loose on the series of treelike modifications and convolutions in the Indo-European family of languages.
—Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 28 Aug. 2025
Wherever Proto-Indo-European originated, its linguistic offspring spread throughout Europe, to Iceland and Ireland in the west, and eastward to India and what is now part of Chinese Turkestan.
—Martha Barnette
august 6, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025
These included a €30 million ($34.9 million) Indo-European co-production pact between India’s Broadvision Perspectives and Luxembourg’s Fabrique d’Images, and a U.K.-India television series co-development MoU between The Bridge and Graphiti Studios.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 July 2025
The new study presents strong genetic evidence linking Indo-European origins to the steppe.
—Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
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Adjective
The serpent-slaying formula likely traces back to an old Indo-European myth.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Its roots are purely imitative, echoing the sound itself rather than deriving from a concrete Indo-European root.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
The team turned their model loose on the series of treelike modifications and convolutions in the Indo-European family of languages.
—Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 28 Aug. 2025
Wherever Proto-Indo-European originated, its linguistic offspring spread throughout Europe, to Iceland and Ireland in the west, and eastward to India and what is now part of Chinese Turkestan.
—Martha Barnette
august 6, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025
These included a €30 million ($34.9 million) Indo-European co-production pact between India’s Broadvision Perspectives and Luxembourg’s Fabrique d’Images, and a U.K.-India television series co-development MoU between The Bridge and Graphiti Studios.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 July 2025
The new study presents strong genetic evidence linking Indo-European origins to the steppe.
—Ella Jeffries, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Indo-European.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Indo-European. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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