late 15c., "of or pertaining to the Pelasgi," from Latin Pelasgius, from Greek Pelasgios "of the Pelasgi," from Pelasgoi "the Pelasgi," name of a prehistoric people of Greece and Asia Minor who occupied Greece and the Aegean islands before the Hellenes, probably originally *Pelag-skoi, literally "Sea-people" (see pelagic). Also Pelasgic.