Where does “pedant” come from?
pedant (Czech) comes from German Pedant, from French pédant, from Italian pedante, from Ancient Greek παιδεία, from Ancient Greek παιδεύω, from Ancient Greek παῖς, from Proto-Hellenic pā́wits, from Proto-Indo-European péh₂wids — few, little; smallness.
pedant (Czech): pedant person who is overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning
Definitions
- pedant person who is overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning
Ancestry of “pedant”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Pedant | pedant person who is overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning |
| 2 | French | pédant | schoolmaster; pedant; pretentious person;... |
| 3 | Italian | pedante | pedantic; schoolmaster; teacher |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | παιδεία | upbringing; training, education; youth, childhood |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | παιδεύω | I raise, bring up a child; I train, teach,... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | παῖς | child, son, daughter; young person, child, boy,... |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | pā́wits | child |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | péh₂wids | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | peh₂w- | few, little; smallness |