Where does “Colleen” come from?
Colleen derives from Irish cailín, a diminutive formed with Irish -ín from Old French -ine, Latin -inus, and Proto-Indo-European -iHnos.
Colleen (English): A girl
Definitions
- A girl
Ancestry of “Colleen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irish | cailín | girl; young, unmarried woman; girlfriend; female... |
| 2 | Irish | -ín | Suffix used to form diminutive nouns, sometimes... |
| 3 | English | -ine | Of or pertaining to; Used to form demonyms;... |
| 4 | French | -ine | feminine singular of -in; female equivalent of... |
| 5 | French | -é | past participle root verb suffix of regular -er... |
| 6 | Middle French | -é | past participle root verb suffix of regular; -ed, -en, -n |
| 7 | Old French | -é | used to form past participles of regular -er... |
| 8 | Latin | -a | suffixed to the roots of verbs, forms agent... |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -ā | Forms masculine agent nouns from prefixed or compounded bases |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -éh₂ | — |