Questions tagged [etymology]
For questions about etymology: the history of words in Latin or the change in meaning as the words are loaned into another language.
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Why is the infinitive of "fero" "ferre" and not "ferse"?
The 'r' in Latin infinitive endings "-are", "-ere", "-ĕre" and "-ire" is explained as coming from Proto-Indo-European 's', by 's' turning to 'r' in Latin ...
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Explanation for legi and dilexi having different perfect stems?
Is there any explanation for why the perfect stem of lego is legi, but the stem for a word derived from it is dilexi? It seems that other related words like adlegi and sublegi follow the expected ...
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Is there a meaning behind 'mater' and 'pater' beyond mother and father?
I ask because i vaguely remember pater, the latin root for father, also having the meaning 'to protect' or 'to lead'? A fairly thorough google search has yet to substantiate that so I might have just ...
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What's the story behind "vernepator cur"?
NPR and many other sources on the Internet say that vernepator cur is Latin for "the dog that turns the wheel." Apparently, the phrase vernepator cur was really in use in England at one time ...
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Etymology of Acolyte
Why is the Greek word ἀκολουθος borrowed into Latin as acolythus and not acoluthus? Compare Θουκυδιδης and Thucydides.
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Why is the Latin word for plum so close to the name of Damascus?
The Latin word for plum is damascena, and the capital of Syria is Damascus.
Are these names related? Why is Latin word for plum so close to the name of Syrian capital? Did Damascus have good plums in ...
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How did ἄρρην turn into αρσενικός?
The Greek word for male is αρσενικός. From the Greek Wiktionary page:
αρσενικός < (κληρονομημένο) αρχαία ελληνική ἀρσενικός < ἄρρην / ἄρσην
I translated it with Google Translate:
male < (...
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How would you properly translate "of the Gods" into Latin?
I am trying to translate the phrase "of the gods" into Latin. Google translate says it would be deorum, however I am skeptical of the accuracy of Google translate, other sources say it is ...
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How did 15th century Dutch “Van Lanckvelt” correspond to neo-Latin “Macropedius”?
The 15th-century Dutch humanist Georgius Macropedius was originally named Joris van Lanckvelt, and his adopted Latin name is generally described as a direct Latinisation of that, without further ...
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Why is "uenetus" a colour name?
I recently came across the following entry on Wiktionary for the adjective "uenetus":
of or pertaining to the Veneti; Venetian
blue, blue-green, sea-blue
Why and how is this adjective ...
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Is Latin qui a descendant or predecessor of Persian که (kë)?
Backstory:
There is French "qui", whose use is alligned with Turkish "ki". As a Turk, I guessed we might have imported the word. It had been resting at the back of my mind for ...
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Rēapse or reāpse?
reapse is a univerbation of rē and eāpse, the archaic form of ipsā. It is macronized as rēapse in Lewis & Short's and OLD, but as reāpse in Gaffiot, Allen & Greenough's New Latin Grammar and ...
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Why sōns but absēns?
The present participle of esse was (at one point) sōns, presumably from *h₁sonts. However, when a prefix is attached, it becomes -sēns, as in absēns and praesēns.
I'd always figured this was a relic ...
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Funny Latin book about etymology and grammar
Are there funny Latin books about the etymology of words, like Word Perfect by Susie Dent for English etymology, or Have You Eaten Grandma? by Gyles Brandreth for English grammar?
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Are the words catastrophe and atrophy related?
For context; I am an absolute noob with etymology. But I recently had a thought that made by blood run cold.
Q: Are the words "catastrophe" and "atrophy" related?
Looking at ...
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Is the Etruscan word for lake, "tisś", derived from the word for water, "thi"?
Is the Etruscan word for lake, "tisś", derived from the word for water, "thi"? The Etruscan word "tina" (a type of a vessel) is, as far as I know, thought to derive from &...
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Are the Etruscan words "tisś" (lake) and "tusna" (swan) related?
Are the Etruscan words "tisś" (lake) and "tusna" (swan) related? I can imagine the word for swan coming from the word for lake, as swans live at lakes.
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Are the latin root word "dis" and latin words "bis" and "duo" synonyms?
On etymonline, it is stated that the prefix "dis" is related to the latin words "bis" and "duo."
Can it be correct to say that all three words are/were synonyms to each ...
FMB
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Conditions for development of sonus medius
Background
It is fairly generally accepted that all Proto-Italic short vowels in medial (= unstressed, but non-final) syllables largely merged on the way to Classical Latin as *e (further developing ...
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Anyone know where "immorito" comes from?
Just checking since the dictionaria gugulabilia seem to (very occasionally) include immorito (glossed here as "causelessly"; here as "undeſervedly") but never whatever intermediate ...
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How is rego(long) in English a cognate of rogo(long) in Latin?
Keller's Learn to Read Latin says that rego(long) in English is a cognate of rogo(long) in Latin. I found that rego(long) in English means registration. How is it a cognate of rogo(long) in Latin? I ...
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Why are some English words considered as derivatives of Latin pars, while others as cognates?
Keller's Learn to Read Latin says
Derivatives Cognates
pars parcel; parse; part pair; par; compare
I was wondering why some English ...
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Is the Croatian dialectism "regast" (full of cracks) related to Ancient Greek ῥαγή ("rhage", crack)?
What do you guys here think, is the Croatian dialectism "regast" ("full of cracks", in the Kaikavian diealect) or "regav" ("wrinkled", in the Donji Miholjac ...
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Are different meanings of quam and -quam related?
In Keller's Learn to Read Latin, I found that quam has several meanings:
quam is the singular feminine accusative form of qui (interrogative or relative adj, what, which)
quam (interrogative or ...
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Are Croatian "bura" (northern wind) and Latin "borealis" (northern) related?
So, are Croatian "bura" (northern wind) and Latin "borealis" (northern) related?
Obviously, they cannot come from the same Indo-European root, as Croatian 'b' (from Proto-Indo-...
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Are Latin "laevus" (left-hand side), Croatian "lijevo" (leftwards), and English "left" (in the sense "side") related?
Are Latin "laevus" (left-hand side), Croatian "lijevo" (leftwards), and English "left" (in the sense "side") related? They definitely look like they could be ...
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Is Ἀχιλλεύς actually from ἄχος and λαός?
As I mentioned in a previous question, I've been taught that ancient authors associated the name Ἀχιλλεύς (and its many variations) with ἄχος ("pain") and λαός ("people"). After ...
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"Words of rustic origin" like "anser"
According to Allen in his Vox Latina, initial h- "was omitted...in words of rustic origin", like anser. No doubt anser originally had an initial h- (cf. Sanskrit haṃsas, "swan"; ...
cmw♦
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If the Latin word for goose, "anser", really comes from Proto-Indo-European *gjhh2ens, where did the *gjh disappear? Why didn't it change to 'h'?
If the Latin word for goose, "anser", really comes from Proto-Indo-European *gjhh2ens, where did the *gjh disappear? Why didn't it change to 'h', as in "homo" (human) from *gjhmo?
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Why is the letter C so spoiled in many languages? [duplicate]
So in some Romane languages, C makes a /k/ or /s/ sound and a k or ch sound in Italian? How did that all happen?
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Why aren't Latin "sanguis" and Greek "haima", both meaning "blood", considered to be cognates? Latin word-initial 's' corresponds to Greek 'h'
Why aren't Latin "sanguis" and Greek "haima", both meaning "blood", considered to be cognates? The meaning is, as far as I know, exactly the same. And they sound alike. ...
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Is praeter formed by adding prefix prae- to stem inter?
The Oxford Latin Dictionary Says
praeter prep., adv. and con}. [prae-; for term. cf. INTER1]
Does it mean that praeter is formed by adding prefix prae- to stem inter?
How shall I understand ...
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Is etymology the best way or a good way to build Latin vocabulary?
I heard that the best way to improve English vocabulary is from the etymology's perspective. That refers to a lot of prefixes and roots that originated in Latin and Greek.
Is etymology also the best ...
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Why study a classical language?
This is admittedly a variation on why study Latin (see Related questions below), but there is specific aspect/motivation that I would like to explore deeper.
Often cited reasons for studying classical ...
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archi- vs meta- prefix
In English, we use the prefix meta, e.g. in metalanguage, to mean that something is one level higher or more abstract.
I read in the preface of a book about the software Metapost that it was a mistake ...
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On the birth of Latin language
This is my first question here, and though my native language derives from Latin, I, unlucky, didn't get a change to study much Latin at school.
Two questions that have often crossed my mind are:
Is ...
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Are these related in etymology: oculus, nox or noctis, and noceo?
I was wondering if the following three word roots are related from the perspective of etymology:
oculus: eye, or puncture or hole. e.g. inoculate
nox, noctis: "night," e.g. nocturnal
noceo:...
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The Celtic word "al" in Latin?
I found a strange word while I read my Latin–Portuguese dictionary (Dicionário latino-português por F. R. Dos Santos Saraiva). The word is "al". The dictionary says that it's a Celtic word ...
user11898
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What words in the English language are derived from the latin word "gustus"?
Are there words in the English language that are derived from the Latin word gustus?
I am wondering if there are cognates in the English language so that the Spanish phrase "mucho gusto" ...
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Does the old English second person verb ending -est (eg thou comest) come from Latin conjugation?
I feel like the question has all the information but yeah I'm just curious if the Latin verb endings influenced the old English -est endings.
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Was the Greek preposition "ἀνά" used in Latin?
A dictionary says that "ana tres uncias" was used by the Roman doctor Celsus. I googled this and didn't find anything. Was this Greek preposition used in Latin?
user11898
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Is there a word for ephemeral but meaning lasting one night?
Looking for a word like "ephemeral," which is derived from Latin "ephēmeros," meaning "lasting only a day," according to the Oxford Dictionary of English.
However, I'd ...
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Hippopotamus - Egyptian ḫꜣb - a phonosemantic calque?
ἱπποπόταμος fulfills at least some loanword criteria (on these criteria see Lubotsky (2001: 301)):
Limited geographical distribution
A more common synonym is not booked. The term is chiefly Greek. ...
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Are German "Tier" (animal) and Latin "fera" (wild animal) related?
Are German "Tier" (animal) and Latin "fera" (wild animal) related? Both look like they might come from an Indo-European root such as *dheh1r, as PIE *dh changes to 't' in German ...
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Are Hebrew "Qoheleth" and Latin "collate" in any way related?
The two words are more similar in sound and meaning that the Latin "conferre". Not knowing Latin I would like a brief explanation of how "collate" comes from "conferre."
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Etymological connection calx-calcaneum, callis, callum
Calx-calcaneum (heel) has resulted in many parallel and similar words across Romance: călcâi in Romanian, cãlcãnju in Aromanian, calcagno in Italian, Galician calcañar/calcaño etc.
Callis (rough ...
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Does the Latin Caspius derive from a Semitic root?
I want to start off by acknowledging that this is tendentious speculation, but I cannot say for sure why it might be wrong, except that I cannot create a clear trajectory for this relationship.
Is the ...
cmw♦
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What is the origin of the Latin suffix -ela?
Wiktionary has an entry for the Latin suffix "-ēla," used in words such as "tēla" and "candēla," as a suffix that "forms abstract nouns from verbs, often ...
Kolin Chasm
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Is the word "pitikkus" (meaning small) attested in Vulgar (or other) Latin?
Being interested in the obscure etymology of popular Romanian word "pitic" (n.m. "dwarf", adj. "of small stature") I have oddly concentrated only on a possible Greek-...
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Is the ancient word Greek πῐ́θηκος / píthēkos ("monkey") attested with the meaning "dwarf" more than once?
I am interested in the obscure etymology of popular Romanian word "pitic" (n.m. "dwarf", adj. "of small stature").
It might have a connection with the Latin line that led ...
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