Where does “Commonwealth” come from?
Commonwealth (English) comes from English common, from Middle English comun, from Anglo-Norman comun, from Old French comun, from Latin commūnis, from Old Latin com(m)oinis, from Proto-Italic kommoinis, from Proto-Indo-European ḱom-moy-ni- — to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...
Commonwealth (English): The Commonwealth of Nations, a loose confederation of nations based around the former British Empire
Definitions
- The Commonwealth of Nations, a loose confederation of nations based around the former British Empire
Ancestry of “Commonwealth”, step by step
Commonwealth traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English common
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | common | Mutual; shared by more than one; Occurring or... |
| 2 | Middle English | comun | Shared, common; belonging to all in a group |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | comun | common |
| 4 | Old French | comun | common |
| 5 | Latin | commūnis | common, commonplace, ordinary, general, universal, shared, shared alike, of both sides, belonging to two or more together |
| 6 | Old Latin | com(m)oinis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kommoinis | common |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱom-moy-ni- | held in common |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 11 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 12 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 13 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 14 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 15 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 16 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 17 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via English wealth
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | wealth | Riches; valuable material possessions; A great... |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |