Where does “kilometer” come from?
kilometer (Danish) comes from Danish meter, from German Meter, from French mètre, from Latin metrum, from Ancient Greek μέτρον, from Ancient Greek -τρον, from Proto-Hellenic -tron, from Proto-Indo-European -trom — Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
kilometer (Danish): kilometre, or kilometer
Ancestry of “kilometer”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Danish | meter | a metre, or meter |
| 2 | German | Meter | meter |
| 3 | French | mètre | metre/meter; first-person singular present... |
| 4 | Latin | metrum | a measure |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μέτρον | something used to measure: measure, rule, weight;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -τρον | Forms instrument nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | -tron | Forms instrument nouns from verb stems |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |