Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “American” come from?

American derives from English America, from Latin America, from Old English -en, from Italian Enrico, from Proto-Indo-European i-, en, and kōim-.

American (English): Originally, relating to the New World, the...

Definitions

  1. Originally, relating to the New World, the...

Ancestry of “American”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishAmerica—
2LatinAmerica—
3ItalianAmerigo—
4Proto-Germanic*Amalarīks—
5Proto-GermanicHaimarīksHenry
6Proto-Germanicrīksking, ruler
7Proto-Celticrīxsking
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃rḗǵsking, ruler
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃reǵ-to straighten, to right oneself; right; just

Words derived from “American”

  • Americanism
  • Americanization
  • Mesoamerican
  • Americanness
  • Americanist
  • Americanize
  • Americanisation
  • Interamerican
  • Americanise
  • Americanese
  • Americaness
  • Americanitis
  • Americanly
  • Merikin
  • Americanizer
  • unamerican
  • Mesoamericanist
  • Americanocentric
  • Amerikkkan
  • Americanophobia
  • Americanophobe
  • Americanistic
  • Americanesque
  • Americanoid
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵ- →