pyramid

English pyramid comes from French pyramide, from Old French piramide, from Latin pȳramis/pȳramidis, from Greek πῡραμίς (pūramís). That Greek word may derive from πῡρός (wheat) plus ἀμάω (to reap), or from Egyptian pr-m-ws, literally 'height of a pyramid,' built from pr ('comes forth'), m ('from'), and ws ('height').

The facts trace only the word's path through Latin, French, and English — no clear record of shifting meaning survives beyond its origin as a term for the structure itself.

Some scholars proposed a Coptic form (*piram or *phram) as the true source, possibly derived from Egyptian mr through a swap of sounds; this same route has been linked, more shakily, to Arabic haram, though that connection is called far-fetched.