Where does “sleutelroman” come from?

sleutelroman (Dutch) comes from Dutch roman, from French roman, from Old French romanz, from Latin rōmānicē, from Latin -ē, from Latin dis-, from Latin calceus, from Latin calx — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.

sleutelroman (Dutch): a novel about real-life people and events (though possibly with altered names)

Definitions

  1. a novel about real-life people and events (though possibly with altered names)

Ancestry of “sleutelroman”, step by step

sleutelroman traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Dutch roman

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1DutchromanA novel
2FrenchromanRomance; romanesque; A novel
3Old FrenchromanzOld French; a story in Old French; account
4Latinrōmānicēin the Roman manner
5Latinly; used to form adverbs from adjectives
6Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
7Latincalceusshoe
8Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
9Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

via Dutch sleutel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1DutchsleutelA key; A wrench, a spanner; A clef
2Middle Dutchslōtelkey
3Old Dutchslutil
4Proto-West Germanic*sleutanto bolt, lock
5Proto-Germanicsleutanąto bolt, lock; to shut, close
6Proto-Indo-European(s)klewd-to lock
7Proto-Indo-European(s)kleh₂w-a hook, crook, peg
8Proto-Indo-European(s)kel-to bend, crook; bent, crooked; leg, heel, knee,...

via French roman à clef

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchroman à clefroman à clef”, literally “novel with a key
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξ