When you hear 'amphitheater' are you hearing English or Greek?

'Amphitheater' is a word borrowed from Greek 'amphitheatron'. The word entered the English language some time around the 14th century.

amphitheater [noun] [14th century]

• an oval or circular building with rising tiers of seats ranged about an open space and used in ancient Rome especially ...
• a very large auditorium
• a room with a gallery from which doctors and students may observe surgical operations
• a rising gallery in a modern theater

See 'amphitheater' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Greek.

note: Late Middle English: via Latin from Greek amphitheatron - from amphi ‘on both sides’ + theatron.
Etymology: Latin 'amphitheatrum' from Greek 'amphitheatron' from 'amphi-' + 'theatron' theater

See more loan words from 1300s.