About Lexicon Earth
A local-first atlas of word histories — search a word, see a schematic journey across languages and places on a globe.
What this is
Lexicon Earth helps you explore word histories across languages — English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Russian, and many others that appear as language sections on Wiktionary. Search a lemma in its own script; the atlas prefers matching language sections when it can, then plots related forms on a map using language heartlands (approximate geographic associations), not attested travel itineraries.
Lookups use free public dictionary APIs. Results you open are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) so starter words and recent searches can work offline.
What it is not
- Not a professional etymological dictionary or a substitute for scholarly sources.
- Not a literal map of how a word “traveled” from place to place.
- Not a guarantee that every parsed template or reconstructed form is correct.
Read the globe as a sketch. Routes are schematic. Markers sit on language heartlands so related forms are easy to compare — they are not GPS pins for historical speech events.
Data sources
- Wiktionary (en.wiktionary.org) — primary multi-language etymology extraction from language sections on each page (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Glottolog — language heartland coordinates for the atlas (CC BY 4.0; Hammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank)
- Wikidata Lexemes — optional structured links (CC0)
- Kaikki / Wiktextract — optional assist (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Natural Earth — land & coastline (public domain)
- three.js — 3D rendering (MIT)
The host is the English-edition Wiktionary site, which documents many languages — not only English lemmas. Coverage still follows what contributors have published for each entry.
Map pins use language heartlands or centroids — not attested travel routes. Approximate, reconstructed, and period-only positions are labeled on each stage. See language atlas attribution for rebuild details and license notes.
Each lookup lists its citations in the Sources panel, including a link back to the Wiktionary entry when available.
Local-first design
No account. No API keys. No paid backend. Your cache stays on this device unless you export it. Clearing site data in the browser removes cached lineages.
Contact
For questions about this site, data use, or privacy, see the Privacy page. Operator contact details can be added there when the site is published on a public domain.
Last updated: 13 October 2026