cosmetic
koz-MET-ik · adjective
Origin
Cosmetic comes from French cosmétique, from Ancient Greek kosmētikē, 'the art of dress and ornament,' from kosmētikos, from kosmētēs, 'orderer, decorator,' from kosméō, 'to order, arrange, adorn,' from kósmos, 'order.'
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Journey
The Greek root kósmos meant simply 'order' or 'arrangement' — the same idea behind our word 'cosmos.' From there it grew into kosméō, 'to arrange or adorn,' and eventually into a word specifically about the art of dressing and ornamenting oneself.
Related words
Cosmetic shares its deepest root with 'cosmos' — both trace back to Greek kósmos, 'order,' whether that order is the arrangement of the stars or the arrangement of a face.